diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/68150-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68150-0.txt | 12947 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 12947 deletions
diff --git a/old/68150-0.txt b/old/68150-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 049ef7d..0000000 --- a/old/68150-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12947 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Salt mines and castles, by Thomas Carr -Howe - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Salt mines and castles - The discovery and restitution of looted European art - -Author: Thomas Carr Howe - -Release Date: May 22, 2022 [eBook #68150] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images - made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALT MINES AND CASTLES *** - - - - - - -SALT MINES AND CASTLES - - - - -[Illustration: The Special Evacuation Team. Lieutenants Kovalyak, Moore -and Howe, who removed the Göring Collection from Berchtesgaden to Munich, -were photographed in the Luftwaffe Rest House at Unterstein.] - -[Illustration: Hermann Göring, his daughter Edda, Frau Göring and Adolf -Hitler. This photograph was taken at Karinhall, the Reichmarschall’s -estate near Berlin.] - - - - - Salt Mines - AND - Castles - - The Discovery and Restitution of - Looted European Art - - _By_ - THOMAS CARR HOWE, JR. - - THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY - _PUBLISHERS_ - _INDIANAPOLIS_ · _NEW YORK_ - - COPYRIGHT, 1946, BY THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - _First Edition_ - - - - -TO MY MOTHER - - - - -NOTE - - -From May 1945 until February 1946, I served as a Monuments, Fine Arts -and Archives Officer in Germany. During the first four months of this -assignment, I was engaged in field work which included the recovery of -looted works of art from such out-of-the-way places as a monastery in -Czechoslovakia, a salt mine in Austria, and a castle in Bavaria. Later, -as Deputy Chief of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section, Office -of Military Government, U. S. Zone, I participated in the restitution of -recovered art treasures to the countries of rightful ownership. - -This book is primarily an account of my own experiences in connection -with these absorbing tasks; but I have also chronicled the activities of -a number of my fellow officers, hoping thereby to provide the reader with -a more comprehensive estimate of the work as a whole than the _resumé_ of -my own duties could have afforded. - -For many helpful suggestions, I am indebted to Captain Edith A. Standen, -Lieutenant Lamont Moore and Mr. David Bramble; and for invaluable -photographic material, I am particularly grateful to Captain Stephen -Kovalyak, Captain P. J. Kelleher, Captain Edward E. Adams and Lieutenant -Craig Smyth, USNR. - -For permission to reproduce three _International News Service_ -photographs, I wish to thank Mr. Clarence Lindner of the San Francisco -_Examiner_. - - THOMAS CARR HOWE, JR. - - San Francisco - July 1946. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - 1 PARIS—LONDON—VERSAILLES 13 - - 2 ASSIGNED TO FRANKFURT 35 - - 3 MUNICH AND THE BEGINNING OF FIELD WORK 54 - - 4 MASTERPIECES IN A MONASTERY 80 - - 5 SECOND TRIP TO HOHENFURTH 104 - - 6 LOOT UNDERGROUND: THE SALT MINE AT ALT AUSSEE 130 - - 7 THE ROTHSCHILD JEWELS; THE GÖRING COLLECTION 171 - - 8 LOOTERS’ CASTLE: SCHLOSS NEUSCHWANSTEIN 219 - - 9 HIDDEN TREASURES AT NÜRNBERG 243 - - 10 MISSION TO AMSTERDAM; THE WIESBADEN MANIFESTO 259 - - APPENDIX 297 - - INDEX 321 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - The Special Evacuation Team. Lieutenants Kovalyak, - Moore and Howe _Frontispiece_ - - Hermann Göring, his daughter, Frau Göring and Hitler _Frontispiece_ - - FACING - PAGE - - The Residenz at Würzburg 30 - - Ruined Frankfurt. The Cathedral 30 - - The Central Collecting Point at Munich 31 - - A typical storage room in the Central Collecting Point 31 - - The bronze coffin of Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia 40 - - Canova’s life-size statue of Napoleon’s sister 40 - - The administration buildings at the Alt Aussee salt mine 41 - - Truck at the mine being loaded with paintings 41 - - Sieber and Kern view Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child 56 - - The Madonna being packed for return to Bruges 56 - - The famous Ghent altarpiece 57 - - Sieber, Kern and Eder examine the altarpiece 57 - - Vermeer’s _Portrait of the Artist in His Studio_ 64 - - One of the picture storage rooms at Alt Aussee 64 - - Panel from the Louvain altarpiece, _Feast of the Passover_ 65 - - The Czernin Vermeer 65 - - Major Anderson supervising removal of the Göring Collection 96 - - One of the forty rooms in the Rest House 96 - - The GI Work Party which assisted the Evacuation Team 97 - - Truck loaded with sculpture from the Göring Collection 97 - - German altarpiece from the Louvre Museum 128 - - The panel, _Mary Magdalene_, by van Scorel 128 - - Wing of an Italian Renaissance altarpiece by del Garbo 129 - - _The Magdalene_, by Erhardt 129 - - _Mary Magdalene_, by Cranach 160 - - _The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine_ by David 160 - - _Diana_, by Boucher, from the Rothschild Collection 161 - - _Atalanta and Meleager_, by Rubens 161 - - _Portrait of a Young Girl_ by Chardin and _Young Girl with - Chinese Figure_ by Fragonard 192 - - _Christ and the Adulteress_, the fraudulent Vermeer 193 - - _Portrait of the Artist’s Sister_ by Rembrandt 193 - - Removal of treasures from Neuschwanstein 224 - - Neuschwanstein—Ludwig II’s fantastic castle 224 - - Packing looted furniture at Neuschwanstein 225 - - Typical storage room in the castle 225 - - The Albrecht Dürer house—before and after the German collapse 256 - - The Veit Stoss altarpiece from the Church of Our Lady at Cracow 257 - - The Hungarian Crown Jewels 288 - - Treasure Room at the Central Collecting Point, Wiesbaden 289 - - The celebrated sculpture, Queen Nefertete 289 - - - - -SALT MINES AND CASTLES - - - - -(1) - -_PARIS—LONDON—VERSAILLES_ - - -“Your name’s not on the passenger list,” said Craig when I walked into -the waiting room of the Patuxent airport. “You’d better see what you can -do about it.” It was a hot spring night and I had just flown down from -Washington, expecting to board a transatlantic plane which was scheduled -to take off at midnight. - -“There must be some mistake,” I said. “I checked on that just before I -left Washington.” Craig went with me to the counter where I asked the -pretty WAVE on duty to look up my name. It wasn’t on her list. - -“Let’s see what they know about this at the main office,” she said with -an encouraging smile as she dialed Naval Air Transport in Washington. -The next ten minutes were grim. The officer at the other end of the -line wanted to know with whom I had checked. Had it been someone in his -office? I didn’t know. All I knew was that I had to get on that plane. -I had important papers which had to be delivered to our Paris office -without delay. Was I a courier? Yes, I was—well, that is, almost, I -faltered to the WAVE ensign who had been transmitting my replies. “Here, -you talk to him,” she said, adding, as she handed me the receiver, “I -think he can fix it up.” - -After going through the same questions and getting the same answers a -second time, the officer in Washington asked to speak to the yeoman who -was supervising the loading of the plane. He was called in and I waited -on tenterhooks until I heard him say, “Yes, sir, I can make room for the -lieutenant and his gear.” Turning the phone over to the WAVE, he asked -with a reassuring grin, “Feel better, Lieutenant?” - -I was so limp with relief that I scarcely noticed the tall spare man in -civilian clothes who had just come up to the counter. “That’s Lindbergh,” -said Craig in a low voice. “Do you suppose he’s going over too?” - -Half an hour later we trooped out across the faintly lighted field to -the C-54 which stood waiting. Lindbergh, dressed now in the olive-drab -uniform of a Naval Technician, preceded us up the steps. There were ten -of us in all. With the exception of three leather-cushioned chairs, there -were only bucket seats. Craig and I settled ourselves in two of these -uninviting hollows and began fumbling clumsily with the seat belts. -Seeing that we were having trouble, Lindbergh came over and with a -friendly smile asked if he could give us a hand. After deftly adjusting -our belts, he returned to one of the cushioned seats across the way. - -Doors slammed, the engines began to roar and, a few seconds later, we -were off. We mounted swiftly into the star-filled sky and, peering -out, watched the dark Maryland hills drop away. We dozed despite the -discomfort of our bent-over positions and didn’t come to again until -the steward roused us several hours later with coffee and sandwiches. -Afterward he brought out army cots and motioned to us to set them up if -we wanted to stretch out. As soon as we got the cots unfolded and the -pegs set in place, he turned out the lights. - -Craig was dead to the world in a few minutes but I couldn’t get back to -sleep. To the accompaniment of the humming motors, the events of the past -weeks began to pass in review: that quiet April afternoon at Western Sea -Frontier Headquarters in San Francisco when my overseas orders had come -through—those orders I had been waiting for so long, more than a year. It -was in March of 1944 that I first learned there was a chance of getting -a European assignment, to join the group of officers working with our -armies in the “protection and salvaging of artistic monuments in war -areas.” That was the cumbersome way it was described. The President had -appointed a commission with a long name, but it came to be known simply -as the Roberts Commission. Justice Roberts of the Supreme Court was the -head of it. It was the first time in history that a country had taken -such precautions to safeguard cultural monuments lying in the paths of -its invading armies. - -It was the commission’s job to recommend to the War Department servicemen -whose professional qualifications fitted them for this work. I had -been in the Navy for two years. Before that I had been director of the -California Palace of the Legion of Honor, one of San Francisco’s two -municipal museums of the fine arts. The commission had recommended me, -but it was up to me to obtain my own release. I had been in luck on that -score. My commanding officer had agreed to let me go. And more important, -my wife had too. Only Francesca had wanted to know why Americans should -be meddling with Europe’s art treasures. Weren’t there enough museum -directors over there to take care of things? Of course there were in -normal times. But now they needed men in uniform—to go in with the armies. - -And after all that planning nothing had happened, until three weeks ago. -Then everything had happened at once. The orders directed me to report to -SHAEF for duty with the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section, G-5, -and additional duty with the Allied Control Council for Germany. - -The papers had been full of stories about German salt mines—the big one -at Merkers where our troops had found the Nazi gold and the treasures -from the Berlin museums. I was going to Germany. Would I find anything -like that? - -I had flown to Washington to receive last-minute instructions. I was -to make the trip across by air and was given an extra allowance of -twenty-five pounds to enable me to take along a dozen Baedekers and a -quantity of photographic paper for distribution among our officers in the -field. I had been introduced to Craig Smyth while in the midst of these -final preparations. Like me, he was a naval lieutenant and his orders -were identical with mine. He was a grave young Princetonian, formerly on -the staff of the National Gallery of Art in Washington. - -It was raining when we reached Stevensville, Newfoundland, early the -next morning. After an hour’s stop we were on our way again. Shortly -before noon we struck good weather and all day long sea and sky remained -unvaryingly blue. Late in the afternoon we landed on the island of -Terceira in the Azores. We had set our watches ahead two hours at -Stevensville. Now we set them ahead again. We took off promptly at seven. -This was the last lap of the journey—we’d be in Paris in the morning. -Presently our fellow passengers settled down for the night. Two of the -cushioned chairs were empty, so Craig and I took possession. They were -more comfortable than the cots, and as soon as the steward turned out the -lights I dropped off to sleep. - -It was still dark when I awoke hours later, but there was enough light -for me to distinguish two black masses of land rising from the sea. On -one, the beacon of a lighthouse revolved with monotonous regularity. We -had just passed over two of the Channel Islands. The dawn came rapidly -and a pink light edged the eastern horizon. It was not long before we -sighted the coast of France. We flew into rosy clouds and, as they -billowed about the plane, we caught tantalizing glimpses of the shore -line below. The steward pointed out one promontory and told us it was -Brest. Soon we had a spectacular view of Mont St. Michel and the long -causeway over which I had driven years before on a sketching tour in -Normandy. I wondered what had become of Mère Poulard and her wonderful -omelettes and lobster. Some people said they had brought more visitors to -Mont St. Michel than the architecture. Very likely she was dead and the -Germans had probably disposed of her fabulous cuisine. - -We had lost two more hours in the course of the night, so it was only -seven-thirty when we swooped down at Orly field, half an hour from -Paris. It was a beautiful morning and the sun was so bright that it -took us a few minutes to get accustomed to the glare. As we walked over -to the airport office, we had our first glimpse of war damage at close -range—bombed-out hangars and, scattered about the field, the wreckage -of German planes. But the airport was being repaired rapidly. Trim new -offices had been built and additional barracks were nearing completion. -Craig and I booked places on the afternoon plane for London and then -climbed onto the bus waiting to take us into Paris. - -Thanks to various delays in getting out of Washington, we had missed -the Paris celebration of VE-Day by a margin of three days. So we were -about to see the wonderful old city at the beginning of a period of -readjustment. But a peaceful Sunday morning is no time to judge any -city—least of all Paris. Everything looked the same. The arcades along -the right side of the Rue de Rivoli and the gardens at the left were -empty, as one would expect them to be. We turned into the Rue Castiglione -and came to a halt by the column in the Place Vendôme. - -After we had checked our bags at the ATC office, we walked over to the -Red Cross Club on the Place de la Concorde. We shaved, washed and then -had doughnuts and coffee in the canteen. - -Our next move was to call Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Webb, the British -officer who was head of the MFA&A Section at SHAEF headquarters in -Versailles. Before the war, Colonel Webb had been Slade Professor of -Art at Cambridge. I explained to him that Smyth and I had arrived but -that our orders directed us to report first to Naval Headquarters in -London—ComNavEu—and that as soon as we had complied with them we would -be back. That was all right with the colonel. He said that Lieutenant -Kuhn, USNR, his deputy, was away on a three-day field trip and wouldn’t -be returning before the middle of the week. And we were primarily Charlie -Kuhn’s problem. - -With that formality out of the way, we retrieved our luggage and -wheedled the ATC into giving us transportation to the Royal Monceau, -the Navy hotel out near the Étoile. It was time to relax and luxuriate -in the thought that it was May and that we were in Paris—that climatic -and geographic combination so long a favorite theme of song-writers. I -thought about this as we drove along the Champs Élysées. The song writers -had something, all right—Paris in May was a wonderful sight. But they -had been mooning about a gala capital filled with carefree people, and -the Paris of May 1945 wasn’t like that. Architecturally, the city was -as elegant as ever, but the few people one saw along the streets looked -anything but carefree. And there were no taxis. Taxis have always seemed -to me as much a part of Paris as the buildings themselves. In spite of a -superficial sameness, Paris had an air of empty magnificence that made -one think of a beautiful woman struck dumb by shock. I wondered if my -thoughts were running away with me, but found that Craig’s impressions -were much the same. - -These musings were cut short by our arrival at the hotel. The Navy had -done all right for itself. The same efficient French staff that had -presided over this de luxe establishment in prewar days was still in -charge. I left the Baedekers and photographic paper for Charlie Kuhn, and -then Craig and I walked to Naval Headquarters in the Rue Presbourg. There -we attended to routine matters in connection with our orders. It was -almost noon by the time we got squared away, so we retraced our steps to -the Monceau. Lunch there was a demonstration of what a French chef could -do with GI food. - -Midafternoon found us headed back to Orly in a Navy jeep. Our plane was -scheduled to leave at four. This was no bucket-seat job, but a luxurious -C-47 equipped with chairs of the Pullman-car variety, complete with -antimacassars. We landed at Bovingdon less than two hours later and -from there took a bus up to London. Naval Headquarters was in Grosvenor -Square. With the American Embassy on one side of it, the Navy on another, -and the park in the center used by the Navy motor pool, the dignified old -square was pretty thoroughly Americanized. - -London was still crowded with our armed forces. The hotels were full, so -we were assigned to lodgings in Wimpole Street. These were on the third -floor of a pleasant, eighteenth century house, within a stone’s throw -of No. 50, where Elizabeth Barrett had been wooed and won by Robert -Browning. An inspection of our quarters revealed that the plumbing was -of the Barrett-Browning period; but the place was clean and, anyway, it -wasn’t likely that we’d be spending much time there. It had been a long -day and we were too tired to think of anything beyond getting a bite to -eat and hitting the sack. - -For our two days in London we had “Queen’s weather”—brilliant sunshine -and cloudless skies. Our first port of call early the next morning -was the Medical Office, where we were given various inoculations. From -there Craig and I went across the square to the American Embassy for -a long session with Sumner Crosby, at that time acting as the liaison -between the Roberts Commission and its British counterpart, the Macmillan -Committee. Sumner provided us with a great deal of useful information. -The latest reports from Germany indicated that caches of looted art -were being uncovered from day to day. The number of these hiding places -ran into the hundreds. The value of their contents was, of course, -incalculable. Only a fraction of the finds had as yet been released to -the press. - -Craig and I began licking our chops at the prospect of what lay ahead. -Had we made a mistake in planning to stay two days in London? Perhaps -we could get a plane back to Paris that evening. Sumner thought not. -There were several things for us to do on the spot, things that would be -of use to us in our future activities. One was to call on Colonel Sir -Leonard Woolley, the British archaeologist who, with his wife, was doing -important work for the Macmillan Committee. Another was to see Jim Plaut, -a naval lieutenant at the London office of OSS. He would probably have -valuable information about German museum personnel. It would be helpful -to know the whereabouts of certain German scholars, specifically those -whose records were, from our point of view, “clean.” - -Sumner made several appointments for us and then hurried off to keep one -of his own. Craig and I stayed on at the office to study the reports. -Sumner had already given us the glittering highlights. By noon our heads -were filled with facts and figures that made E. Phillips Oppenheim seem -positively unimaginative. And _The Arabian Nights_—that was just old -stuff. - -It was late afternoon when we finished calling on the various people -Sumner had advised us to see, but plenty of time remained to do a little -sightseeing before dinner. The cabbie took us past Buckingham Palace, -along the Embankment, Birdcage Walk, the Abbey, the Houses of Parliament -and finally to St. Paul’s. What we saw was enough to give a cruel picture -of the damage the Germans had inflicted on the fine old monuments of -London. - -Craig and I flew back to Orly the following evening, arriving too late -to obtain transportation into Paris. We spent an uncomfortable night in -the barracks at the airport and drove to the Royal Monceau early the -next morning. It was stiflingly hot and I was in a bad humor in spite of -the soothing effect of a short haircut—the kind Francesca said needed a -couple of saber scars to make it look right. My spirits fell still lower -when Craig and I were told that we could stay only two nights at the -hotel. Since we were assigned to SHAEF, it was up to the Army to billet -us. It seemed rather unfriendly of the Navy, but that’s the way it was -and there wasn’t anything we could do about it. - -After lunch we set out for Versailles in a Navy jeep. It was a glorious -day despite the heat, and the lovely drive through the Bois and on -past Longchamps made us forget our irritation at the Navy’s lack of -hospitality. The office of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section -was in two tiny “between-floor” rooms in the Grandes Écuries—the big -stables which, together with their matching twin, the Petites Écuries, -face the main palace. - -When we arrived Colonel Webb was deep in conference with a lady war -correspondent. The tall, rangy colonel, who reminded me of a humorous -and grizzled giraffe, came out to welcome Craig and me. His cordiality -was overwhelming at first, but we soon learned the reason. Miss Bonney, -the correspondent, was giving the colonel a bad time and he needed moral -support. She was firing a rapid barrage of searching questions, and in -some cases the colonel didn’t want to answer. I was fascinated by his -technique. He obviously didn’t wish to offend his inquisitor, but on the -other hand he wasn’t going to be pressed for an expression of opinion -on certain subjects. At times he would parry her query with one of his -own. At others he would snort some vague reply which got lost in a -hearty laugh. Before the interview was over, it was Miss Bonney who was -answering the questions—often her own—not the colonel. - -Neither Craig nor I could make much of what we heard, but after Miss -Bonney’s departure the colonel took us into his confidence. Somewhere -this indomitable lady had got hold of stray bits of information which, -properly pieced together, made one of the most absorbing stories of the -war, as far as Nazi looting of art treasures was concerned. The time was -not yet ripe to break the story, according to the colonel, so it had been -up to him to avoid giving answers which would have filled in the missing -pieces of the puzzle. - -Then the colonel proceeded to tell us about the _Einsatzstab Rosenberg_, -the infamous “task force”—to translate the word literally—organized -under the direction of Alfred Rosenberg, the “ideological and spiritual -leader” of the Reich, for the methodical plundering of the great Jewish -collections and the accumulated artistic wealth of other recognized -“enemies of the state.” Rosenberg was officially responsible for cultural -treasures confiscated in the occupied countries. He had virtually -unlimited resources at his command. In the fall of 1940, not long after -his appointment, Rosenberg received a congratulatory letter from Göring -in which the Reichsmarschall promised to support energetically the work -of his staff and to place at its disposal “means of transportation and -guard personnel,” and specifically assured him the “utmost assistance” -of the Luftwaffe. Even before the war, German agents had accumulated -exhaustive information concerning collections which were later to be -confiscated. The whereabouts of every object of artistic importance was -known. Paintings, sculpture, tapestries, furniture, porcelain, enamels, -jewels, gold and silver—all were a matter of record. When the Nazis -occupied Paris, the Rosenberg Task Force was able to go into operation -with clocklike precision. And so accurate was their information that -in many instances they even knew the hiding places in which their more -foresighted victims had concealed their valuables. - -The headquarters of the E.R.R.[1] had been set up in the Musée du Jeu -de Paume, the little museum in the corner of the Tuileries Gardens -overlooking the Place de la Concorde. The large staff was composed mainly -of Germans, but some of the members were French. Looted treasures poured -into the building, to be checked, labeled and shipped off to Germany. -But it was more than a clearing house. The choicest things were placed -on exhibition and to these displays the top-flight Nazis were invited—to -select whatever caught their fancy. Hitler had first choice, Göring -second. - -It did not occur to the members of the E.R.R. staff that their every move -was watched. A courageous Frenchwoman named Rose Valland had ingratiated -herself with the “right people” and had become a trusted member of the -staff. During the months she worked at the museum, she had two main -objectives. One was to sabotage the daily work as much as possible by -making intentionally stupid mistakes and by encouraging the French -laborers, engaged by the Germans, to do likewise. The other, and far and -away the more important, was the compilation of a file, complete with -biographical data and photographs, of the German personnel at the Jeu -de Paume. How she ever accomplished this is a mystery. The colonel said -that Mlle. Valland, now a captain in the French Army, was working with -the official French committee for Fine Arts. She had already provided -our Versailles office with a copy of her E.R.R. file. Later in the -summer I met Captain Valland, a robust woman with gray hair and the most -penetrating brown eyes I have ever seen. I asked her how she had ever -had the courage to do what she had done. She said with a laugh, “I could -never do it again. The Gestapo followed me home every night.” - -After regaling us with this account of the E.R.R., Colonel Webb whetted -our appetites still further with an outline of what his deputy, Charlie -Kuhn, was up to. As the result of a “signal,” he had taken off by plane -for Germany, and at the moment was either in the eastern part of Bavaria -or over the Austrian border, trying to trace two truckloads of paintings -and tapestries which two high-ranking Nazis had spirited away from the -Laufen salt mine at the eleventh hour. Latest information indicated -that the finest things from the Vienna Museum had been stored at -Laufen, which was in the mountains east of Salzburg; and it was further -believed that the “top cream” of the stuff—the Breughels, Titians and -Velásquezes—was in those two trucks. These pictures were world-famous -and consequently not marketable, so there was the appalling possibility -that the highjackers had carried them off with the idea of destroying -them—Hitler’s mad Götterdämmerung idea. There was also the possibility -that they intended to hold the pictures as a bribe against their own -safety. - -Back at the hotel that night, Craig and I reviewed the events of the day. -What we had learned from Colonel Webb was only an affirmation of the -exciting things we had gleaned from the reports in the London office. -We were desperately anxious to get into Germany where we could be a -part of all these unbelievable adventures instead of hearing about them -secondhand. Strict censorship was still in force, so we weren’t able to -share our exuberance with our respective families in letters home. But we -could at least exult together over the fantastic future shaping up before -us. - -We found Charlie Kuhn at the office the next morning. He was a tall -quiet fellow with a keen sense of humor, whom I had first known when -we had been fellow students at Harvard back in the twenties. During -the intervening years we had met only at infrequent intervals. He had -remained to teach and had become an outstanding member of the Fine Arts -faculty in Cambridge, while I had gone to a museum. His special field -of scholarship was German painting and it was this attribute which had -led the Roberts Commission to nominate him for his present assignment as -Deputy Chief of the MFA&A Section. He had already been in the Navy for -two years when this billet was offered him. Notwithstanding his obvious -qualifications for his present job, he had so distinguished himself in -the earlier work upon which he had been engaged—special interrogation -of German prisoners—that it had required White House intervention to -“liberate” him for his new duties. No closeted scholar, Charlie chafed -under the irritations of administrative and personnel problems which -occupied most of his time. - -That morning at Versailles he was fresh from his adventures in the field, -and we buttonholed him for a firsthand account. Yes, the trucks had been -located. They had been abandoned by the roadside, but everything had -been found intact. The reports had not been exaggerated: the trucks had -contained some of the finest of the Vienna pictures and also some of -the best tapestries. They were now in a warehouse at Salzburg and would -probably remain there until they could be returned to Vienna. As to -their condition, the pictures were all right; the tapestries had mildewed -a bit, but the damage wasn’t serious. - -It was hard to settle down to the humdrum of office routine after his -recital of these adventures. Charlie said he wanted to ship us off to -Germany as soon as possible because there was so much to be done and so -few officers were available. - -It turned out that we weren’t destined for nearly so swift an invasion of -Germany as we had hoped. Later that afternoon Charlie received a letter -from the Medical Officer at Naval Headquarters in Paris informing him -that Lieutenants Howe and Smyth had not completed their course of typhus -shots, and that he would not recommend their being sent into Germany -until thirty days after the second and final shot. Charlie wanted to know -what this was all about, and we had to admit that we had not been given -typhus injections before leaving the States, and had only received the -first one in London. After deliberating about it most of the following -morning, Colonel Webb and Charlie decided that, if we were willing to -take the chance, they’d cut the waiting period to ten days. We were only -too willing. - -Craig and I made good use of the waiting period. We were put to work on -the reports submitted at regular intervals by our officers in the field. -These reports contained information concerning art repositories. It was -our job to keep the card file on them up to date; to make a card for each -new one; to sort out and place in a separate file those which had become -obsolete; to check duplications. Each card bore the name of the place, a -brief description of the contents, and a map reference consisting of two -co-ordinates. In Germany there was much duplication in the names of small -towns and villages, so these map references were of great importance. - -There was also a file on outstanding works of art which were known to -have been carried off by the Germans or hidden away for safekeeping, but -the whereabouts of which were as yet unknown—such things, for example, as -the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire, the Michelangelo _Madonna and -Child_ from Bruges, the Ghent altarpiece, the treasure from the Cathedral -of Metz, the stained glass from Strasbourg Cathedral, and the Veit Stoss -altarpiece. The list read like an Almanach de Gotha of the art world. - -So far as our creature comforts were concerned, they suffered a great -decline when we moved out to Versailles. Our lodging there was a barren, -four-story house at No. 1 Rue Berthier. Craig had a room on the ground -floor, while I shared one under the eaves with Charlie Kuhn. Judging from -the signs still tacked up in various parts of the house, it had been -used as a German billet during the occupation; and judging by its meager -comforts, only the humblest ranks had been quartered there. No spruce -Prussian would have put up with such austerity. A couple of British -soldiers also were living there. They were batmen for two officers -quartered in a near-by hotel and, for a hundred francs a week, they -agreed to do for us as well. They brought us hot water in the morning, -polished our shoes each day and pressed our uniforms. - -Outwardly our life was rather magnificent, for we usually had our meals -at the Trianon Palace Hotel just inside the park grounds. It was a -pleasant walk from the Rue Berthier, and an even pleasanter one from -the office, involving a short cut behind the main palace and across the -lovely gardens. On the whole the gardens had been well kept up and a -stroll about the terraces or through the long _allées_ was something to -look forward to when the weather was fine. Craig and I got into the habit -of retiring to a quiet corner of the gardens after work with our German -books. There we would quiz each other for an hour or two a day. We made -occasional trips into Paris but, more often than not, we followed a -routine in which the bright lights—what few there were—played little part. - -At the end of our ten-day “incubation” period, Charlie gave us our -instructions. We were to go to Frankfurt by air and from there to Bad -Homburg by car. At Bad Homburg we were to report to ECAD headquarters, -that is, the European Civil Affairs Division, where we would be issued -further orders. As members of a pool of officers attached to ECAD, we -could be shifted about from one part of Germany to another. - -Charlie told us that he and Colonel Webb would be moving to Frankfurt in -a few days as SHAEF Headquarters was soon to be set up there. The MFA&A -office would continue to function with a joint British and American -staff until the dissolution of SHAEF later in the summer. But that would -not take place, he said, until the four zones of occupation had been -established. - -We left for the airport at six-thirty in the morning. Our French driver -asked us which airport we wanted. Craig and I looked at each other in -surprise. What field was there besides Orly? The answer was Villacoublay. -We had never heard of it, so we said Orly. We couldn’t have been more -wrong. When we finally reached Villacoublay we found great confusion. We -couldn’t even find out whether our plane had taken off. - -After making three attempts to get a coherent answer from the second -lieutenant who appeared to be quietly going mad behind the information -counter, I gave up. - -“This is where you take over, Craig,” I said. I had suddenly developed an -evil headache and had lost all interest in going any place. I walked over -to my luggage, which I had dumped in front of the building, and plunked -myself down on top of it, put on dark glasses and went to sleep. An hour -later, Craig shook me. - -“Come on,” he said. “I’ve found a B-17 that’s going to Frankfurt.” We -piled our gear onto a truck and rumbled out over the bumpy field for a -distance of half a mile. One of the B-17’s crew was sitting unconcernedly -in the grass. - -“We’d like to go to Frankfurt,” said Craig. - -“Okay,” he said, “we’ll be going along pretty soon.” He was -disconcertingly casual. But the trip wasn’t. We ran into heavy fog -and got lost, so it took us nearly three hours to make the run which -shouldn’t have taken more than two. - -We finally landed in a green meadow near Hanau. Craig said he’d look for -transportation if I’d stand guard over our luggage. It was an agreeable -assignment. The day was warm, the meadow soft and inviting. I took out my -German book and a chocolate bar, curled up in the grass and hoped he’d be -gone a long time. - -Craig came back an hour and a half later with a jeep. We were about -twenty miles outside Frankfurt. On the way in the driver said that the -city had been eighty percent destroyed. He hadn’t exaggerated. As we -turned into the Mainzer Landstrasse, we saw nothing but gutted buildings -on either side. We continued up the Taunus Anlage and I recognized the -Opera House ahead. At first I thought it was undamaged. Then I saw -that the roof was gone, and only the outer walls remained. Most of the -buildings were like that. This was just the shell of a city. - -Our first stop was SHAEF headquarters, newly established in the vast I. -G. Farben building which, either by accident or design, was completely -undamaged. There we got another car to take us to Bad Homburg. - -The little resort town where the fashionable world of Edward VII’s day -had gone to drink the waters and enjoy the mineral baths consisted -mostly of hotels. Some of them were occupied by our troops. Others were -being used as hospitals for wounded German soldiers. The big Kurhaus -had received a direct hit, but the rest of the buildings appeared to be -undamaged. - -At ECAD headquarters we were assigned a billet in the Grand Hotel Parc. -That sounded pretty snappy to us—another Royal Monceau, maybe. The -billeting officer must have guessed our thoughts, because he shook his -head glumly and said, “’Tain’t anything special. Don’t get your hopes up.” - -It was nice of him to have prepared us for the rat hole which was the -Grand Hotel Parc. This shabby structure, built around three sides of -a narrow courtyard, had an air of vanished refinement about it, but -it could hardly have rated a star in Baedeker. Yet it must have had a -certain cachet fifty years ago, for in the entrance hallway hung a white -marble plaque. Its dim gold letters told us that Bismarck’s widow had -spent her declining years “in peaceful happiness beneath this hospitable -roof.” - -Our room was on the fourth floor. The stairs, reminiscent of a -lighthouse, might have been designed for a mountain goat. We thought we -had struck the ultimate in drabness at the Rue Berthier, but this was -worse. The room itself was worthy of its approach. When I opened the -big wardrobe I half expected a body to fall out. Two sofas masquerading -as beds occupied corners by the window. The window gave onto the dingy -courtyard. We silently made up our beds with Army blankets and sprinkled -them lavishly with DDT powder. - -“Do you suppose there’s such a thing as a bathroom?” Craig asked. - -“I’d sooner expect to find one in an igloo,” I said. “Maybe there’s a -pump or a trough somewhere out in back. Why don’t you go and see?” - -[Illustration: The Residenz at Würzburg. The palace of the Prince-Bishops -was gutted by fire in March 1945. The magnificent ceiling by Tiepolo -miraculously escaped serious damage.] - -[Illustration: Ruined Frankfurt. In the center, the cathedral. Only the -tower and the walls of the nave remain standing. _International News -Photo_] - -[Illustration: The Central Collecting Point at Munich, formerly the -Administration Building of the Nazi Party. The director of the Central -Collecting Point was Lieutenant Craig Smyth, USNR.] - -[Illustration: A typical storage room in the Central Collecting Point at -Munich. The racks for pictures were built by civilian carpenters under -the direction of American Monuments officers.] - -When he returned fifteen minutes later he was in high spirits. “There’s -a bathroom all right and it’s got hot water,” he said, “but you have to -be a combination of Theseus and Daniel Boone to find it. Come along, I’ll -show you the way.” - -It was clever of him to find it a second time. I took a piece of red -crayon with me and marked little arrows on the walls to show which turns -to make. They were a timesaver to us during the next couple days. - -After breakfast the next morning, we telephoned 12th Army Group -Headquarters in Wiesbaden and talked with Lieutenant George Stout, USNR, -who, with Captain Bancel La Farge, was in charge of the advance office -of MFA&A in Germany. Stout suggested that we come on over. It was a -pleasant drive along the Autobahn, with the blue Taunus mountains in the -distance. Parts of Wiesbaden had been badly mauled, but the destruction -was negligible compared with Frankfurt. Although many buildings along the -main streets had been hit, the colonnaded Kurhaus, now a Red Cross Club, -was intact. So was the Opera House. - -We found George on the top floor of a dingy building in the center of -the town. I hadn’t seen him for fifteen years but he hadn’t changed. -His face was a healthy brown, his eyes were as keen and his teeth as -dazzlingly white as ever. George was in his middle forties. His oldest -boy was in the Navy but George didn’t look a day over thirty. The Roberts -Commission had played in luck when they had got him. Of course he was an -obvious choice—tops in his field, the technical care and preservation -of pictures. He was known and respected throughout the world for his -brilliant research work at Harvard, where he presided over the laboratory -of the Fogg Museum. - -“Bancel’s got jobs lined up for you fellows, but I think he’d like to -tell you about them himself,” George said. “He ought to be back tonight.” - -“Can’t you tell us in a general way what they are?” I asked. - -“I think one of them is going to be in Frankfurt and the other will -probably be in Munich. You see, all the stuff from the Merkers mine is in -the vaults of the Reichsbank at Frankfurt and it ought to be moved to a -place where it can be permanently stored.” - -The “stuff” he referred to was the enormous collection of paintings and -sculpture—comprising the principal treasures of the Berlin museums—which -George himself had brought out of the Merkers mine in Thuringia. He had -carried out the operation virtually singlehanded and in the face of -extraordinary difficulties just before the end of hostilities. - -“As for Munich,” he continued, “repositories are springing up like -mushrooms all through Bavaria. Most of it is loot and we’re going to have -to set up some kind of depot where we can put the things until they can -be returned to the countries from which the Nazis stole them.” - -“What are your plans?” I asked. - -“Well, if the trucks show up,” he said, “I want to get started for Siegen -this afternoon. That’s in Westphalia. It’s another mine—copper, not -salt—and it’s full of things from the Rhineland museums. I’ve got to take -them up to Marburg. We have two good depots there.” - -We lunched with George and then returned to Bad Homburg. There wasn’t -anything for us to do but wait around until we heard from Captain La -Farge. To fill in the time we took our German books and spent the -afternoon studying in the Kurpark. - -The telephone was ringing in the entrance lobby as we walked in at five. -It was Captain La Farge. He had just returned and wanted to see us at -once. I said I didn’t know whether we could get transportation. He -chuckled and said, “Tell them a general wants to see you.” Craig and I -dashed over to the Transportation Office and tried it out. It worked. -So, for the second time that day, we found ourselves on the road to -Wiesbaden. - -Captain La Farge was waiting for us in the office where we had seen -George that morning. He was a tall, slender man in his early forties. -With a high-domed head and a long, rather narrow face, he was the classic -New Englander. His eyes were hazel and, at that first meeting, very -weary. But he had one of the most ingratiating smiles and one of the -most pleasant voices I had ever heard. He reminded me of an early Copley -portrait. - -Without much preamble he launched into a detailed explanation of the -plans he had for us. - -“I want you to take over the Frankfurt job,” he said to me, “and I am -sending you down to Munich, Smyth. As George probably told you, we’ve -got to set up two big depots. The one in Frankfurt will be mainly for -German-owned art which is now coming in from repositories all over this -part of Germany. The one in Munich will be chiefly for loot, though there -will be German-owned things down in Bavaria too. Both jobs are equally -interesting, equally important and, above all, equally urgent.” - -We were to get started without delay. Craig would be attached to the -Regional Military Government office in Munich, I to the Military -Government Detachment in Frankfurt. Captain La Farge suggested that I -investigate the possibility of requisitioning the university buildings -for a depot, and advised Craig to consider one of the large Nazi party -buildings in Munich which he had been told was available. - -On the way home that night Craig and I compared notes on our new -assignments. I was frankly envious of Craig, not only because there was -something alluring about all that loot, but because I loved Munich and -the picturesque country around it. In turn, Craig thought I had drawn -a fascinating job—one that involved handling the wonderful riches of -Berlin’s “Kaiser Friedrich,” admittedly one of the world’s greatest -museums. - -The following morning we parted on the steps of the Grand Parc Hotel. -Craig took off first, in a jeep with trailer attached, a crusty major for -his companion. Half an hour later a jeep appeared for me. On the way over -to Frankfurt I thought about the experiences of the past three weeks. -It had been fun sharing them with Craig and I wished that we might have -continued this odyssey together. I didn’t realize how soon our paths were -to cross again. - - - - -(2) - -_ASSIGNED TO FRANKFURT_ - - -The Military Government Detachment had its headquarters in a gray stone -building behind the Opera House. It was one of the few in the city that -had suffered relatively little damage. I reported to the Executive -Officer, a white-haired major named James Franklin. After I had explained -the nature of the work I was expected to do, he took me around to the -office of Lieutenant Julius Buchman, the Education and Religious Affairs -Officer, who had also the local MFA&A problems as part of his duties. -Buchman couldn’t have been more pleasant, and said he’d do everything -he could to help. There was an air of quiet good humor about him that I -liked at once. I learned that he was an architect by profession and had -studied at the Bauhaus in Dessau before the war. He spoke fluent German. -I told him that first of all I’d like to get settled, so he guided me to -Captain Wyman Ooley, the Billeting Officer. - -Ooley was a happy-go-lucky fellow, the only Billeting Officer I ever -met who was always cheerful. He had been a schoolteacher in Arkansas. -Together we drove out to the residential section where a group of houses -had been set aside for the Military Government officers. This part of the -city had not been heavily bombed and each one of the houses had a pretty -garden. - -“I’ll tell you, I’ve got a real nice room in that house over there,” he -said, pointing to a gray stucco house partly screened by a row of trees. -“But it’s for lieutenant colonels. It’s empty right now, but I might have -to throw you out later.” Thinking that lieutenant colonels would be very -likely to have ideas about good plumbing, I quickly said I’d take the -chance. - -The front door was locked. Ooley called, “Lucienne!” One of the upper -windows was instantly flung open and a woman, dust-cloth in hand, -leaned out, waved and disappeared. A moment later she reappeared at the -front door. Lucienne, all smiles, was as French as the tricolor. Ooley -explained in pidgin French, with gestures, that I was to have a room on -the second floor, wished me luck and departed. Lucienne bustled up to the -second floor chattering away at a great rate, expressing surprise and -delight that I was “officier de la Marine” and also taking considerable -satisfaction in having recognized my branch of the service. - -She threw open a door and then dashed off to the floor above, still -chattering and gesticulating. I was left alone to contemplate the -splendor before me—an enormous, airy bedroom looking out on a garden -filled with scarlet roses. This couldn’t be true. Even lieutenant -colonels didn’t deserve this. The room had cream-colored walls, paneled -and decorated with chinoiserie designs. A large chest of drawers and -a low table were decorated in the same manner. In one corner was an -inviting chaise longue, covered in rose brocade. Along the end wall -stood the bed—complete with sheets and a pillow. The built-in wardrobe -had full-length mirrors which reflected the tall French windows and the -garden beyond. - -As I stood there trying to take it all in, Lucienne appeared again. With -her was a dapper little fellow whom she introduced as her husband, René. -He acknowledged the introduction and then solemnly introduced Lucienne. -After this bit of mock formality, he explained that he and Lucienne had -charge of all the houses in the block. If anything was not to my liking I -was to let them know and it would be righted at once. - -Further conversation revealed that the two of them had been deported from -Paris early in 1941 and been obliged to remain in Frankfurt, working -for the Germans, ever since. All through the bombings, I asked? But of -course, and they had been too terrible. During one of the worst raids -they had been imprisoned in the bomb shelter. The falling stones had -blocked the exit. They had had to remain under the ground for forty-eight -hours. They had been made deaf by the noise, yes, for two months. And the -concussion had made them bleed from the nose and the ears. I asked if -they expected to go back to Paris. Yes, of course, but they were in no -hurry. It was very nice in Germany, now that the Americans were there. -With that they left me to unpack and get settled. - -When I had finished, I decided to explore a bit. There were two other -bedrooms on the second floor. Neat labels on the doors indicated that -they were occupied by lieutenant colonels. There were two other doors at -the end of the hall. Neither one was labeled, so I peered in. They were -the bathrooms. And what bathrooms! Marble floors, tiled walls, double -washbasins and built-in tubs. Although it was only the middle of the -morning, I had to sample one of those magnificent tubs. And as a kind of -tribute to all this elegance, I felt constrained to discard my khakis and -put on blues. - -Captain La Farge had stressed the urgency of setting up an art depot, so -the next ten days were given over to that project. Buchman generously -shelved his own work to help me with it. Together we inspected the -University of Frankfurt. The newest of the German universities, it -had opened its doors at the outbreak of the first World War. The main -administration building, an imposing structure of red sandstone, had -been badly damaged by incendiaries but could be repaired. It would be a -big job, but we could worry about that later. The first step was to have -it allocated for our use. That had to be done through the proper Army -“channels.” Buchman steered me through. Then we had to obtain an estimate -of the repairs. It took three days to get one from the university -architect. It was thorough but impractical and had to be completely -revised. We took the revised estimate to the Army Engineers and asked -them to make an inspection of the building and check the architect’s -figures. They were swamped with work. It would be a week before they -could do anything. I said it was a high priority job, hoping to speed -things along. But the Engineers had heard that one before. We’d have to -be patient. - -Charlie Kuhn and Colonel Webb had moved up to Frankfurt and were -established at SHAEF headquarters in the I. G. Farben building. Their -office was only a few blocks from mine, and during my negotiations for -the use of the university building I was in daily communication with them. - -While waiting for the Engineers to make the promised inspection, I made -a couple of field trips with Buchman. The first was a visit to Schloss -Kronberg, a few kilometers from Frankfurt. It was a picturesque medieval -castle, unoccupied since the first part of the seventeenth century. -Valuable archives were stored there. We wanted to see if they were in -good condition, and also to make sure that the place had been posted with -the official “Off Limits” signs. - -A flock of geese scattered before us as we drove up to the entrance -at the end of a narrow, winding road. We knocked on the door of the -caretaker’s cottage and explained the purpose of our visit to the old -fellow who timidly appeared with a large bunch of keys. He limped ahead -of us across the cobbled courtyard, and we waited while he fitted one of -the keys into the lock. - -A wave of heavy perfume issued from the dark room as the door swung -open. When our eyes had become accustomed to the dim light, we saw that -we were in the original _Waffenraum_ of the castle. But, in addition to -the clustered weapons affixed to the walls, there were five sarcophagi -in the center of the vaulted room. Around them stood vases filled with -spring flowers. On the central sarcophagus rested a spiked helmet of the -first World War. The others were unadorned. - -The old caretaker explained that the central tomb was that of the -Landgraf of Hesse who had died thirty years ago. Those on either side -contained the remains of his two sons who had likewise died in the first -World War. The other two coffins were those of the elder son’s wife and -of a princess of Baden who had been killed in one of the air raids on -Frankfurt in 1944. All five sarcophagi had originally stood in the little -chapel across the courtyard. It had been destroyed by an incendiary bomb -the winter before. - -We left this funerary chamber with a feeling of relief and continued -our inspection of the castle. A winding ramp in one of the towers led -to the floors above. From the top story we had a superb view of the -broad Frankfurt plain spread out below. The caretaker told us he had -watched the bombings from that vantage point. The great banqueting -hall, with a musicians’ gallery at one end, had been emptied of its -original furnishings and was now a jumble of papers stacked in piles of -varying heights. These were part of the Frankfurt archives. Others were -stored in two rooms on the ground floor. All of the rooms were dry and -weatherproof, so there was nothing further to be done about them for the -present. There was no place in Frankfurt as yet to which they could be -moved. “Off Limits” signs had been posted. They would discourage souvenir -hunters from unauthorized delving. - -On our way back to the car the caretaker told us that the castle still -belonged to Margarethe, Landgräfin of Hesse, the youngest sister of the -last Kaiser. Although she was now in her seventies, she came every day -to put fresh flowers beside the tombs of her husband and her two sons. -She lived at a newer castle, Schloss Friedrichshof, only a few kilometers -away. He apparently didn’t know that Schloss Friedrichshof had been -taken over by the Army and was being used as an officers’ country club. -The old Landgräfin was living modestly in one of the small houses on -the property. Her scapegrace son, Prince Philip, as I learned later, -had played an active role in the artistic depredations of the Nazi -ringleaders. I was to hear more of the Hesse family before the end of the -year. - -A second excursion took us still farther afield. On an overcast morning -two days later, Buchman, Charlie Kuhn, Captain Rudolph Vassalle (who was -the Public Safety Officer of the detachment) and I set out in the little -Opel sedan which had been assigned the MFA&A office. We struck out to the -east of Frankfurt on the road to Gelnhausen. We stopped at this pleasant -little town with its lovely, early Gothic church and went through the -formality of obtaining clearance from the local Military Government -Detachment to make an inspection in that area. - -From there we continued by a winding secondary road which led us through -increasingly hilly country to Bad Brückenau. Our mission there was -twofold: Captain Vassalle wanted to track down a young Nazi officer, -reportedly a member of the SS, and to find a warehouse said to contain -valuable works of art. I had gathered from Buchman that many such reports -petered out on investigation. Still, there was always the chance that -the one you dismissed as of no importance would turn out to be something -worth while. - -[Illustration: The bronze coffin of Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia was -found in a mine near Bernterode.] - -[Illustration: Canova’s life-size marble statue of Napoleon’s sister was -found at the monastery of Hohenfurth.] - -[Illustration: The administration buildings at the salt mine at Alt -Aussee, Austria. Removal of stolen art treasures from the mine was -carried out late in 1945.] - -[Illustration: Truck at entrance to the main building of the mine is -being loaded with paintings, to be taken to Munich for dispersal to their -owner nations.] - -After making several inquiries, we eventually located a small house on -the edge of town. In response to our insistent hammering, the door of -the house was finally opened by a pallid young man probably in his late -twenties. If he was the object of the captain’s search he had certainly -undergone a remarkable metamorphosis, for he bore little resemblance to -the dapper officer of whom Captain Vassalle carried a photograph for -identification. The captain seemed satisfied that he was the man. So -leaving them in conversation, the three of us followed up the business -of the reported works of art. The other two occupants of the house—an -old man and a young woman who may have been the wife of the man who -had opened the door—responded to our questions with alacrity and took -us to the cellar. There we were shown a cache of pictures, all of them -unframed and none of them of any value. They appeared to be what the old -man claimed—their own property, brought to Bad Brückenau when they had -left Frankfurt to escape the bombings. In any case, we made a listing of -the canvases, identifying them as best we could and making notations of -the sizes, and also admonishing the couple not to remove them from the -premises. - -After that the old man took us across the back yard to a large modern -barn which was heavily padlocked. Once inside he unshuttered a row of -windows along one side of the main, ground-floor room. It was jammed to -the ceiling with every conceivable item of household furnishings: chairs, -tables, beds, bedding, kitchen utensils and porcelain. But no pictures. -We poked around enough to satisfy ourselves that first appearances were -not deceiving. They weren’t, so, having made certain that the old fellow, -who claimed to be merely the custodian of these things, understood the -regulations forbidding their removal, we picked up Captain Vassalle. He -had completed his interrogation of the alleged SS officer and placed him -under house arrest. - -Our next objective was an old Schloss which, according to our map, was -still a good hour’s drive to the northeast. As it was nearly noon and we -were all hungry, we decided to investigate the possibilities of food in -the neighborhood. On our way back through Bad Brückenau we stopped at -the office of a small detachment of troops and asked where we could get -some lunch. The hospitable second lieutenant on duty in the little stucco -building, which had once been part of the Kurhaus establishment, gave us -directions to the sprawling country hotel, high up above the town, where -his outfit was quartered. He said that he would telephone ahead to warn -the mess sergeant of our arrival. - -For a little way we followed along the Sinn, which flows through the -grassy valley in which Bad Brückenau nestles. Then we began to mount -sharply and, for the next fifteen minutes, executed a series of hairpin -turns and ended abruptly beside a rambling structure which commanded a -wonderful view of the valley and the wooded hills on the other side. Our -hosts were a group of friendly young fellows who seemed delighted to have -the monotony of their rural routine interrupted by our visit. They asked -Charlie and me the usual question—what was the Navy doing in the middle -of Germany—and got our stock reply: we are planning to dig a canal from -the North Sea to the Mediterranean. - -We had a heavy downpour during lunch, and we waited for the rain to let -up before starting out again. Then we took the winding road down into -town, crossed the river and drove up into the hills on the other side of -the valley. An hour’s drive brought us to upland meadow country and a -grove of handsome lindens. At the end of a long double row of these fine -trees stood Schloss Rossbach. “Castle” was a rather pompous name for the -big seventeenth century country house with whitewashed walls and heavily -barred ground-floor windows. - -We were received by the owners, a Baron Thüngen and his wife, and -explained that we had come to examine the condition of the works of -art, which, according to our information, had been placed there for -safekeeping. They ushered us up to a comfortable sitting room on the -second floor where we settled down to wait while the baroness went off to -get the keys. In the meantime we had a few words with her husband. His -manner was that of the haughty landed proprietor, and he looked the part. -He was a big, burly man in his sixties. He was dressed in rough tweeds -and wore a matching hat, adorned with a bushy “shaving brush,” which he -hadn’t bothered to remove indoors. That may have been unintentional, but -I idly wondered if it weren’t deliberate discourtesy and rather wished -that I had kept my own cap on. I wished also that I could have matched -his insolent expression, but thought it unlikely because I was frankly -enjoying the obvious distaste which our visit was causing the old codger. - -However, his attitude was almost genial compared with that of his waspish -wife, who reappeared about that time, armed with a huge hoop from which -a great lot of keys jangled. The baroness, who was much younger than -her husband, had very black hair and discontented dark eyes. She spoke -excellent English, without a trace of accent. I felt reasonably sure that -she was not German but couldn’t guess her nationality. It turned out that -she was from the Argentine. She was a sullen piece and made no effort to -conceal her irritation at our intrusion. She explained that neither she -nor her husband had anything to do with the things stored there; that, in -fact, it was a great inconvenience having to put up with them. She had -asked the young woman who knew all about them to join us. - -The young woman in question arrived and was completely charming. She -took no apparent notice of the baroness’ indifference, which was that -of a mistress toward a servant whom she scarcely knew. Her fresh, open -manner cleared the atmosphere instantly. She introduced herself as Frau -Holzinger, wife of the director of Frankfurt’s most famous museum, the -Staedelsches Kunstinstitut. Because of conditions in Frankfurt, and more -particularly because their house had been requisitioned by the American -military authorities, she had come to Schloss Rossbach with her two young -children. Country life, she continued, was better for the youngsters and, -besides, her husband had thought that she might help with the things -stored at the castle. I had met Dr. Holzinger when I went one day to -have a look at what remained of the museum, so his wife and I hit it off -at once. I was interested to learn that she was Swiss and a licensed -physician. She smilingly suggested that we make a tour of the castle and -she would show us what was there. - -The first room to be inspected was a library adjoining the sitting room -in which we had been waiting. Here we found a quantity of excellent -French Impressionist paintings, all from the permanent collection of the -Staedel, and a considerable number of fine Old Master drawings. Most of -these were likewise the property of the museum, but a few—I remember one -superb Rembrandt sketch—appeared to have come from Switzerland. Those -would, of course, have to be looked into later, to determine their exact -origin and how they came to be on loan at the museum. But for the moment -we were concerned primarily with storage conditions and the problem of -security. In another room we found an enormous collection of books, the -library of one of the Frankfurt museums. In a third we encountered an -array of medieval sculpture—saints of all sizes and description, some of -carved wood, others of stone, plain or polychromed. These too were of -museum origin. - -The last storage room was below ground, a vast, cavernous chamber beneath -the house. Here was row upon row of pictures, stacked in two tiers down -the center of the room and also along two sides. From what we could make -of them in the poor light, they were not of high quality. During the -summer months they would be all right in this underground room, but we -thought that the place would be very damp in the winter. Frau Holzinger -assured us that this was so and that the pictures should be removed -before the bad weather set in. - -The baroness chipped in at this point and affably agreed with that idea, -undoubtedly happy to further any scheme which involved getting rid of -these unwelcome objects. She also warned us that the castle was far from -safe as it was, what with roving bands of Poles all over the countryside. -As we indicated that we were about to take our leave, she elaborated upon -this theme, declaring that their very lives were in danger, that every -night she and her husband could hear prowlers in the park. Since they—as -Germans—were not allowed to have firearms, they would be at the mercy -of these foreign ruffians if they should succeed in breaking into the -castle. By this time we were all pretty fed up with the whining baroness. -As we turned to go, Charlie Kuhn, eyeing her coldly, asked, “Who brought -those Poles here in the first place, madam? We didn’t.” - -To our delight, the weather had cleared and the sun was shining. Ahead -of us on the roadway, the foliage of the lindens made a gaily moving -pattern. Our work for the day was done and we still had half the -afternoon. I got out the map and, after making some quick calculations, -proposed that we could take in Würzburg and still get back to Frankfurt -at a reasonable hour. We figured out that, with the extra jerry can of -gas we had with us, we could just about make it. We would be able to fill -up at Würzburg for the return trip. So, instead of continuing on the road -back to Bad Brückenau, we turned south in the direction of Karlstadt. - -It was pleasant to be traveling a good secondary road instead of the -broad, characterless Autobahn, on which there were no unexpected -turns, no picturesque villages. There was little traffic, so we made -very good time. In half an hour we had threaded our way through -Karlstadt-on-the-Main. In this part of Franconia the Main is a capricious -river, winding casually in and out of the gently undulating hills. -A little later we passed the village of Veitschöchheim where the -Prince-Bishops of Würzburg had an elaborate country house during the -eighteenth century. The house still stands, and its gardens, with a tiny -lake and grottoes in the Franco-Italian manner, remain one of the finest -examples of garden planning of that day. As we drove by we were glad that -this inviting spot had not attracted the attention of our bombers. - -Alas, such was not the case with Würzburg, as we realized the minute we -reached its outskirts! The once-gracious city, surely one of the most -beautiful in all Germany, was an appalling sight. Its broad avenues -were now lined with nothing but the gaping, ruined remnants of the -stately eighteenth century buildings which had lent the city an air of -unparalleled distinction and consistency of design. High on its hilltop -above the Main, the mellow walls of the medieval fortress of Marienberg -caught the rays of the late afternoon sun. From the distance, the -silhouette of that vast structure appeared unchanged, but the proud city -of the Prince-Bishops which it overlooked was laid low. - -We drove slowly along streets not yet cleared of rubble, until we came -to the Residenz, the great palace of the Prince-Bishops, those lavish -patrons of the arts to whom the city owed so much of its former grandeur. -This magnificent building, erected in the first half of the eighteenth -century by the celebrated baroque architect, Johann Balthasar Neumann, -for two Prince-Bishops of the Schönborn family, was now a ghost palace, -its staring glassless windows and blackened walls pathetic vestiges of -its pristine splendor. - -We walked up to the main entrance wondering if it could really be true -that the crowning glory of the Residenz—the glorious ceiling by Tiepolo, -representing Olympus and the Four Continents—was, as we had been told, -still intact. With misgivings we turned left across the entrance hall to -the Treppenhaus and mounted the grand staircase. We looked up and there -it was—as dazzling and majestically beautiful as ever—that incomparable -fresco, the masterpiece of the last great Italian painter. Someone with -a far greater gift for words than I may be able to convey the exaltation -one experiences on seeing that ceiling, not just for the first time -but at any time. I can’t. It leaves artist and layman alike absolutely -speechless. I think that, if I had to choose one great work of art, it -would be this ceiling in the Residenz. You can have even the Sistine -ceiling. I’ll take the Tiepolo. - -For the next half hour we examined every corner of it. Aside from a few -minor discolorations, the result of water having seeped through the lower -side of the vault just above the cornice, the fresco was undamaged. -Considering the destruction throughout the rest of the building, I -could not understand how this portion of the palace could be in such a -remarkable state of preservation. The explanation was an interesting -example of how good can sometimes come out of evil. Some forty years -ago, as I remember the story, there was a fire in the Residenz. The -wooden roof over a large portion, if not all, of the building was burned -away. When it came to replacing the roof, the city fathers decided -it would be a prudent idea to cover the part above the Tiepolo with -steel and concrete. This was done, and consequently, when the terrible -conflagration of March 1945 swept Würzburg—following the single raid of -twenty minutes which destroyed the city—the fresco was spared. As we -wandered through other rooms of the Residenz—the Weisser Saal with its -elaborate stucco ornamentation and the sumptuous Kaiser Saal facing the -garden, once classic examples of the Rococo—I wished that those city -fathers had gone a little farther with their steel and concrete. - -We stopped briefly to examine the chapel in the south wing. Here, -miraculously enough, there had been relatively little damage, but the -caretaker expressed concern over the condition of the roof and said that -if it weren’t repaired before the heavy rains the ceiling would be lost. -Knowing how hard it was to obtain building materials for even the most -historic monuments when people didn’t have a roof over their heads, we -couldn’t reassure him with much conviction. - -The spectacle of ruined Würzburg had a depressing effect upon us, so we -weren’t very talkative on our way back to Frankfurt. We passed through -only one town of any size, Aschaffenburg, which, like Würzburg, had -suffered severe damage. Although I had not been long in Germany and -had seen but few of her cities, I was beginning to realize that the -reports of the Allied air attacks had not been exaggerated. I was ready -to believe that there were only small towns and villages left in this -ravaged country. - -One morning Charlie Kuhn rang up to say that I should meet him at the -Reichsbank early that afternoon. This was something I had been looking -forward to for some time, the chance to look at the wonderful things -from the Merkers mine which were temporarily stored there. With Charlie -came two members of the MFA&A organization whom I had not seen since -Versailles and then only briefly. They had been stationed at Barbizon, as -part of the Allied Group Control Council for Germany (usually referred -to simply as “Group CC”) the top level policy-making body as opposed -to SHAEF, which dealt with the operational end of things. These two -gentlemen were John Nicholas Brown, who had come over to Germany with the -assimilated rank of colonel as General Eisenhower’s adviser on cultural -affairs, and Major Mason Hammond, in civilian life professor of the -Classics at Harvard. - -It had been decided, now that we were about to acquire a permanent -depot in which to store the treasures, to make one Monuments officer -responsible for the entire collection. By this transfer of custody, the -Property Control Officer in whose charge the things were at present, -could be relieved of that responsibility. Major Hammond had with him a -paper designating me as custodian. Knowing in a general way what was -stored in the bank, I felt that I was on the point of being made a sort -of director, pro tem, of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum. - -The genial Property Control Officer, Captain William Dunn, was all -smiles at the prospect of turning his burden over to someone else. But -before this transfer could be made, a complete check of every item was -necessary. Major Hammond knew just how he wanted this done. I was to have -two assistants, who could come over the next morning from his office in -Hoechst, twenty minutes from Frankfurt. The three of us, in company with -Captain Dunn, would make the inventory. - -We wandered through the series of rooms in which the things were stored. -In the first room were something like four hundred pictures lined up -against the wall in a series of rows. In two adjoining rooms were great -wooden cases piled one above another. In a fourth were leather-bound -boxes containing the priceless etchings, engravings and woodcuts from the -Berlin Print Room. Still another room was filled with cases containing -the renowned Egyptian collections. It was rumored that one of them held -the world-famous head of Queen Nefertete, probably the best known and -certainly the most beloved single piece of all Egyptian sculpture. It had -occupied a place of special honor in the Berlin Museum, in a gallery all -to itself. - -Still other rooms were jammed with cases of paintings and sculpture of -the various European schools. In a series of smaller alcoves were heaped -huge piles of Oriental rugs and rare fabrics. And last, one enormous -room with bookshelves was filled from floor to ceiling with some thirty -thousand volumes from the Berlin Patent Office. Quite separate and apart -from all these things was a unique collection of ecclesiastical vessels -of gold and silver, the greater part of them looted from Poland. These -extremely precious objects were kept in a special vault on the floor -above. - -Captain Dunn brought out a thick stack of papers. It was the complete -inventory. Major Hammond said that the two officers who would help -with the checking were a Captain Edwin Rae and a WAC lieutenant named -Standen. Aside from having heard that Rae had been a student of Charlie -Kuhn’s at Harvard, I knew nothing about him. But the name Standen rang -a bell: was she, by any chance, Edith Standen who had been curator of -the Widener Collection? Major Hammond smilingly replied, “The same.” I -had known her years ago in Cambridge where we had taken Professor Sachs’ -course in Museum Administration at the same time. I remembered her as -a tall, dark, distinguished-looking English girl. To be exact, she was -half English: her father had been a British Army officer, her mother a -Bostonian. Recalling her very reserved manner and her scholarly tastes, I -found it difficult to imagine her in uniform. - -Early the following morning, I met my cohorts at the entrance to the -Reichsbank. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Captain Rae was -an old acquaintance if not an old friend. He also had been around the -Fogg Museum in my time. Edith looked very smart in her uniform. She had -a brisk, almost jovial manner which was not to be reconciled with her -aloof and dignified bearing in the marble halls of the Widener house at -Elkins Park. We hunted up Captain Dunn and set to work. Our first task -was to count and check off the paintings stacked in the main room. We -got through them with reasonable speed, refraining with some difficulty -from pausing to admire certain pictures we particularly fancied. Then we -tackled the Oriental rugs, and that proved to be a thoroughly thankless -and arduous task. We had a crew of eight PWs—prisoners of war—to help us -spread the musty carpets out on the floor. Owing to the fact that the -smaller carpets—in some cases they were hardly more than fragments—had -been rolled up inside larger ones, we ended with nearly a hundred more -items than the inventory called for. That troubled Captain Dunn a bit, -but I told him that it didn’t matter so long as we were over. We’d have -to start worrying only if we came out short. By five o’clock we were -tired and dirty and barely a third of the way through with the job. - -The next day we started in on the patent records. There had been a fire -in the mine where the records were originally stored. Many of them were -slightly charred, and all of them had been impregnated with smoke. -When we had finished counting the whole thirty thousand, we smelled -just the way they did. As a matter of fact we hadn’t wanted to assume -responsibility for these records in the first place. Certainly they had -nothing to do with art. But Major Hammond had felt that they properly -fell to us as archives. And of course they were archives of a sort. - -On the morning of the third day, as I was about to leave my office for -the Reichsbank, I had a phone call from Charlie Kuhn. He asked me how the -work was coming along and then, in a guarded voice, said that something -unexpected had turned up and that he might have to send me away for a few -days. He told me he couldn’t talk about it on the telephone, and anyway, -it wasn’t definite. He’d probably know by afternoon. I was to call him -later. This was hardly the kind of conversation to prepare one for a -humdrum day of taking inventory, even if one were counting real treasure. -And for a person with my curiosity, the morning’s work was torture. - -When I called Charlie after lunch he was out but had left word that I was -to come to his office at two o’clock. When I got there he was sitting at -his desk. He looked up from the dispatch he was reading and said with -a rueful smile, “Tom, I am going to send you out on a job I’d give my -eyeteeth to have for myself.” Then he explained that certain developments -had suddenly made it necessary to step up the work of evacuating art -repositories down in Bavaria and in even more distant areas. For the -first time in my life I knew what was meant by the expression “my heart -jumped a beat”—for that was exactly what happened to mine! No wonder -Charlie was envious. This sounded like the real thing. - -Charlie told me that I was to fly down to Munich the next morning and -that I would probably be gone about ten days. To save time he had already -had my orders cut. All I had to do was to pick them up at the AG office. -I was to report to Third Army Headquarters and get in touch with George -Stout as soon as possible. Charlie didn’t know just where I’d find -George. He was out in the wilds somewhere. As a matter of fact he wasn’t -too sure about the exact location of Third Army Headquarters. A new -headquarters was being established and the only information he had was -that it would be somewhere in or near Munich. The name, he said, would be -“Lucky Rear” and I would simply have to make inquiries and be guided by -signs posted along the streets. - -I asked Charlie what I should do about the completion of the inventory -at the Reichsbank, and also about the impending report from the Corps of -Engineers on the University of Frankfurt building. He suggested that I -leave the former in Captain Rae’s hands and the latter with Lieutenant -Buchman. Upon my return I could take up where I had left off. - -That evening I threw my things together, packing only enough clothes to -see me through the next ten days. Not knowing where I would be billeted I -took the precaution of including my blankets. Even at that my luggage was -compact and light, which was desirable as I was traveling by air. - - - - -(3) - -_MUNICH AND THE BEGINNING OF FIELD WORK_ - - -The next morning I was up before six and had early breakfast. It was a -wonderful day for the trip, brilliantly clear. The corporal in our office -took me out to the airfield, the one near Hanau where Craig Smyth and I -had landed weeks before. It was going to be fun to see Craig again and -find out what he had been up to since we had parted that morning in Bad -Homburg. The drive to the airfield took about forty-five minutes. There -was a wait of half an hour at the field, and it was after ten when we -took off in our big C-47. We flew over little villages with red roofs, -occasionally a large town—but none that I could identify—and now and then -a silvery lake. - -Just before we reached Munich, someone said, “There’s Dachau.” Directly -below us, on one side of a broad sweep of dark pine trees, we saw a group -of low buildings and a series of fenced-in enclosures. On that sunny -morning the place looked deserted and singularly peaceful. Yet only a -few weeks before it had been filled with the miserable victims of Nazi -brutality. - -In another ten minutes we landed on the dusty field of the principal -Munich airport. Most of the administration buildings had a slightly -battered look but were in working order. It was a welcome relief to -take refuge from the blazing sunshine in the cool hallway of the main -building. The imposing yellow brick lobby was decorated with painted -shields of the different German states or “Länder.” The arms of Bavaria, -Saxony, Hesse-Nassau and the rest formed a colorful frieze around the -walls. - -A conveyance of some kind was scheduled to leave for town in a few -minutes. Meanwhile there were sandwiches and coffee for the plane -passengers. By the time we had finished, a weapons carrier had pulled -up before the entrance. Several of us climbed into its dust-encrusted -interior. It took me a little while to get my bearings as we drove toward -Munich. I had spotted the familiar pepper-pot domes of the Frauenkirche -from the air but had recognized no other landmark of the flat, sprawling -city which I had known well before the war. - -It was not until we turned into the broad Prinz Regenten-Strasse that -I knew exactly where I was. As we drove down this handsome avenue, I -got a good look at a long, colonnaded building of white stone. The roof -was draped with what appeared to be an enormous, dark green fishnet. -The billowing scallops of the net flapped about the gleaming cornice of -the building. It was the Haus der Deutschen Kunst, the huge exhibition -gallery dedicated by Hitler in the middle thirties to the kind of art -of which he approved—an art in which there was no place for untrammeled -freedom of expression, only the pictorial and plastic representation -of all the Nazi regime stood for. The dangling fishnet was part of the -elaborate camouflage. I judged from the condition of the building that -the net had admirably served its purpose. - -In a moment we rounded the corner by the Prinz Karl Palais. Despite the -disfiguring coat of ugly olive paint which covered its classic façade, it -had not escaped the bombs. The little palace, where Mussolini had stayed, -had a hollow, battered look and the formal garden behind it was a waste -of furrowed ground and straggling weeds. We turned left into the wide -Ludwig-Strasse and came to a grinding halt beside a bleak gray building -whose walls were pockmarked with artillery fire. I asked our driver if -this were Lucky Rear headquarters and was told curtly that it wasn’t, -but that it was the end of the line. It was MP headquarters and I’d have -to see if they’d give me a car to take me to my destination, which the -driver said was “’way the hell” on the other side of town. - -Before going inside I looked down the street to the left. The familiar -old buildings were still standing, but they were no longer the trim, -cream-colored structures which had once given that part of the city such -a clean, orderly air. Most of them were burned out. Farther along on -the right, the Theatinerkirche was masked with scaffolding. At the end -of the street the Feldherren-Halle, Ludwig I’s copy of the Loggia dei -Lanzi, divested of its statuary, reared its columns in the midst of the -desolation. - -It was gray and cool in the rooms of the MP building, but the place was -crowded. Soldiers were everywhere and things seemed to be at sixes and -sevens. After making several inquiries and being passed from one desk to -another, I finally got hold of a brisk young sergeant to whom I explained -my troubles. At first he said there wasn’t a chance of getting a ride out -to Lucky Rear. Every jeep was tied up and would be for hours. They had -just moved into Munich and hadn’t got things organized yet. Then all at -once he relented and with a grin said, “Oh, you’re Navy, aren’t you? In -that case I’ll have to fix you up somehow. We can’t have the Navy saying -the Army doesn’t co-operate.” - -He walked over to a window that looked down on the courtyard below, -shouted instructions to someone and then told me I’d find a jeep and -driver outside. “Think nothing of it, Lieutenant,” he said in answer to -my thanks. “Maybe I’ll be wanting a ship to take me home one of these -days before long. Have to keep on the good side of the Navy.” - -[Illustration: In the Kaiser Josef chamber of the Alt Aussee mine Karl -Sieber and Lieutenant Kern view Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child, stolen -from a church at Bruges.] - -[Illustration: Lieutenants Kovalyak, Stout and Howe pack the Michelangelo -Madonna for return to Bruges. The statue was restored to the Church of -Notre Dame in September of 1945.] - -[Illustration: The famous Ghent altarpiece by van Eyck was flown from -the Alt Aussee mine to Belgium in the name of Eisenhower as a token -restitution.] - -[Illustration: Karl Sieber, German restorer, Lieutenant Kern, American -Monuments officer, and Max Eder, Austrian engineer, examine the panels of -the Ghent altarpiece stored in the Alt Aussee mine.] - -On my way out I gathered up my luggage from the landing below and -climbed into the waiting jeep. We turned the corner and followed the -Prinz Regenten-Strasse to the river. I noticed for the first time that -a temporary track had been laid along one side. This had been done, the -driver said, in order to cart away the rubble which had accumulated -in the downtown section. We turned right and followed the Isar for -several blocks, crossed to the left over the Ludwig bridge, then drove -out the Rosenheimer-Strasse to the east for a distance of about three -miles. Our destination was the enormous complex of buildings called the -Reichszeugmeisterei, or Quartermaster Corps buildings, in which the -rear echelon of General Patton’s Third Army had just established its -headquarters. - -Even in the baking sunlight of that June day, the place had a cold, -unfriendly appearance. We halted for identification at the entrance, and -there I was introduced to Third Army discipline. One of the guards gave -me a black look and growled, “Put your cap on.” Startled by this burly -order, I hastily complied and then experienced a feeling of extreme -irritation at having been so easily cowed. I could at least have asked -him to say “sir.” - -The driver, sensing my discomfiture, remarked good-naturedly, “You’ll get -used to that sort of thing around here, sir. They’re very, very fussy now -that the shooting’s over. Seems like they don’t have anything else to -worry about, except enforcing a lot of regulations.” This was my first -sample of what I learned to call by its popular name, “chicken”—a prudent -abbreviation for the exasperating rules and regulations one finds at an -Army headquarters. Third Army had its share of them—perhaps a little -more than its share. But I didn’t find that out all at once. It took me -all of two days. - -My driver let me out in front of the main building, over the central -doorway of which the emblem of the Third Army was proudly displayed—a -bold “A” inside a circle. The private at the information desk had never -heard of the “Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section,” but said that -if it was a part of G-5 it would be on the fifth floor. I found the -office of the Assistant Chief of Staff and was directed to a room at the -end of a corridor at least two blocks long. I was told that the officer I -should see was Captain Robert Posey. I knew that name from the reports I -had studied at Versailles, as well as from a magazine article describing -his discovery, months before, of some early frescoes in the little -Romanesque church of Mont St. Martin which had been damaged by bombing. -The article had been written by an old friend of mine, Lincoln Kirstein, -who was connected with the MFA&A work in Europe. - -When I opened the door of the MFA&A office, George Stout was standing in -the middle of the room. The expression of surprise on his face changed to -relief after he had read the letter I handed him from Charlie Kuhn. - -“You couldn’t have arrived at a more opportune time,” he said. “I came -down from Alt Aussee today to see Posey, but I just missed him. He left -this morning for a conference in Frankfurt. I wanted to find out what -had happened to the armed escort he promised me for my convoys. We’re -evacuating the mine and desperately shorthanded, so I’ve got to get back -tonight. It’s a six-hour drive.” - -“Charlie said you needed help. What do you want me to do?” I asked. I -hoped he would take me along. - -“I’d like to have you stay here until we get this escort problem -straightened out. I was promised two half-tracks, but they didn’t show -up this morning. I’ve got a call in about them right now. It’s three -o’clock. I ought to make Salzburg by five-thirty. There’ll surely be some -word about the escort by that time, and I’ll phone you from there.” - -Before he left, George introduced me to Lieutenant Colonel William -Hamilton, the Assistant Chief of Staff, and explained to him that I had -come down on special orders from SHAEF to help with the evacuation work. -George told the colonel that I would be joining him at the mine as soon -as Captain Posey returned and provided me with the necessary clearance. -After we had left Colonel Hamilton’s office, I asked George what he meant -by “clearance.” He laughed and said that I would have to obtain a written -permit from Posey before I could operate in Third Army territory. As -Third Army’s Monuments Officer, Posey had absolute jurisdiction in all -matters pertaining to the fine arts in the area occupied by his Army. At -that time it included a portion of Austria which later came under General -Mark Clark’s command. - -“Don’t worry,” said George. “I’ll have you at the mine in a few days, and -you’ll probably be sorry you ever laid eyes on the place.” - -I went back to the MFA&A office and was about to settle down at Captain -Posey’s vacant desk. I looked across to a corner of the room where -a lanky enlisted man sat hunched up at a typewriter. It was Lincoln -Kirstein, looking more than ever like a world-weary Rachmaninoff. Lincoln -a private in the U. S. Army! What a far cry from the world of modern art -and the ballet! He was thoroughly enjoying my astonishment. - -“This is a surprise, but it explains a lot of things,” I said, dragging a -chair over to his desk. “So you are the Svengali of the Fine Arts here at -Third Army.” - -“You mustn’t say things like that around this headquarters,” he said -apprehensively. - -During the next two hours we covered a lot of territory. First of all, I -wanted to know why he was an enlisted man chained to a typewriter. With -his extraordinary intelligence and wide knowledge of the Fine Arts, he -could have been more useful as an officer. He said that he had applied -for a commission and had been turned down. I was sorry I had brought up -the subject, but knowing Lincoln’s fondness for the dramatic I thought it -quite possible that he had wanted to be able to say in later years that -he had gone through the war as an enlisted man. He agreed that he could -have been of greater service to the Fine Arts project as an officer. - -Then I asked him what his “boss”—he was to be mine too—was like. He said -that Captain Posey, an architect in civilian life, had had a spectacular -career during combat. In the face of almost insurmountable obstacles, -such as lack of personnel and transportation and especially the lack of -any real co-operation from the higher-ups, he had accomplished miracles. -Now that the press was devoting more and more space to the work the -Monuments officers were doing—the discovery of treasures in salt mines -and so on—they were beginning to pay loving attention to Captain Posey -around the headquarters. - -I gathered from Lincoln that the present phase of our activities appealed -to the captain less than the protection and repair of historic monuments -under fire. If true, this was understandable enough. He was an architect. -Why would he, except as a matter of general cultural interest, find -work that lay essentially in the domain of a museum man particularly -absorbing? It seemed reasonable to assume that Captain Posey would -welcome museum men to shoulder a part of the burden. But I was to learn -later that my assumption was not altogether correct. - -Eventually I had to interrupt our conversation. It was getting late, and -still no word about the escort vehicles. Lincoln told me where I would -find the officer who was to have called George. He was Captain Blyth, a -rough-and-ready kind of fellow, an ex-trooper from the state of Virginia. -The outlook was not encouraging. No vehicles were as yet available. -Finally, at six o’clock, he rang up to say that he wouldn’t know anything -before morning. - -Lincoln returned from chow, I gave him the message in case George called -while I was out and went down to eat. It was after eight when George -telephoned. The connection from Salzburg was bad, and so was his temper -when I told him I had nothing to report. - -Lincoln usually spent his evenings at the office. That night we stayed -till after eleven. Here and there he had picked up some fascinating -German art books and magazines, all of them Nazi publications lavishly -illustrated. They bore eloquent testimony to Hitler’s patronage of -the arts. The banality of the contemporary work in painting was -stultifying—dozens of rosy-cheeked, buxom maidens and stalwart, -brown-limbed youths reeking with “strength through joy,” and acres of -idyllic landscapes. The sculpture was better, though too often the -tendency toward the colossal was tiresomely in evidence. It was in -recording the art of the past, notably in the monographs dealing with -the great monuments of the Middle Ages and the Baroque, that admirable -progress had been made. I asked Lincoln enviously how he had got hold of -these things. He answered laconically that he had “liberated” them. - -Captain Blyth had good news for me the next morning. Two armored vehicles -had left Munich for the mine. I gave the message to George when he called -just before noon. - -“They’re a little late,” he said. “Thanks to the fine co-operation of -the 11th Armored Division, I am being taken care of from this end of the -line. I’ll try to catch your fellows in Salzburg and tell them to go -back where they came from. I am sending you a letter by the next convoy. -It’s about a repository which ought to be evacuated right away. I can’t -give you any of the details over the phone without violating security -regulations. As soon as Posey gets back, you ought to go to work on it. -After that I want you to help me here.” - -After George had hung up, I asked Lincoln if he had any idea what -repository George had in mind. Lincoln said it might be the monastery at -Hohenfurth. It was in Czechoslovakia, just over the border from Austria. -While we were discussing this possibility, Craig Smyth walked in. - -As soon as he had recovered from the surprise of finding me at Captain -Posey’s desk, he explained the reason for his visit. Something had to -be done right away about the building he was setting up as a collecting -point. He had been promised a twenty-four-hour guard. He had been -promised a barrier of barbed wire. So far, Third Army had failed to -provide either one. A lot of valuable stuff had already been delivered to -the building, and George was sending in more. He couldn’t wait any longer. - -“Let’s have a talk with Colonel Hamilton,” I said. As we walked down to -the Assistant Chief of Staff’s office, Craig told me that the buildings -he had requisitioned were the ones Bancel La Farge had suggested when we -saw him at Wiesbaden a month ago. - -“Can’t this matter wait until Captain Posey returns?” the colonel asked. - -“I am afraid it can’t, sir,” said Craig. “As you know, the two buildings -were the headquarters of the Nazi party. The Nazis meant to destroy them -before Munich fell. Having failed to do so, I think it quite possible -that they may still attempt it. Both buildings are honeycombed with -underground passageways. Only this morning we located the exit of one -of them. It was half a block from the building. We hadn’t known of its -existence before. The works of art stored in the building at present are -worth millions of dollars. In the circumstances, I am not willing to -accept the responsibility for what may happen to them. I must have guards -or a barrier at once.” - -The colonel reached for the telephone and gave orders that a cordon of -guards was to be placed on the buildings immediately. He made a second -call, this time about the barbed wire. When he had finished he told Craig -that the guard detail would report that afternoon; the barbed wire would -be strung around the building the next morning. We thanked the colonel -and returned to Posey’s office. - -We found two officers who had just come in from Dachau. They were waiting -to see someone connected with Property Control. They had brought with -them a flour sack filled with gold wedding rings; a large carton stuffed -with gold teeth, bridgework, crowns and braces (in children’s sizes); -a sack containing gold coins (for the most part Russian) and American -greenbacks. As we looked at these mementos of the concentration camp, I -thought of the atrocity film I had seen at Versailles and wondered how -anyone could believe that those pictures had been an exaggeration. - -I went back with Craig to his office at the Königsplatz. The damage to -Munich was worse than I had realized. The great Deutsches Museum by the -river was a hollow-eyed specter, but sufficiently intact to house DPs. -Aside from its twin towers, little was left of the Frauenkirche. The -buildings lining the Brienner-Strasse had been blasted and burned. Along -the short block leading from the Carolinen Platz to the Königsplatz, -the destruction was total: on the left stood the jagged remnants of the -little villa Hitler had given D’Annunzio; on the right was a heap of -rubble which had been the Braun Haus. But practically untouched were the -two Ehrentempel—the memorials to the “martyrs” of the 1923 beer-hall -“putsch.” The colonnades were draped with the same kind of green -fishnet that had been used to camouflage the Haus der Deutschen Kunst. -The classic façades of the museums on either side of the square—the -Glyptothek and the Neue Staatsgalerie—were intact. The buildings -themselves were a shambles. - -I followed Craig up the broad flight of steps to the entrance of the -Verwaltungsbau, or Administration Building. It was three stories high, -built of stone, and occupied almost an entire block. True to the Nazi -boast, it looked as though it had been built to “last a thousand -years.” And it was so plain and massive that I didn’t see how it could -change much in that time. There was nothing here that could “grow old -gracefully.” The interior matched the exterior. There were two great -central courts with marble stairs leading to the floor above. - -Although the building had not been bombed, it had suffered severely -from concussion. Craig said that when he had moved in two weeks ago -the skylights over the courts had been open to the sky. On rainy days -one could practically go boating on the first floor. There had been no -glass in the windows. Now they had been boarded up or filled in with a -translucent material as a substitute. All of the doors had been out of -line and would not lock. But the repairs were already well under way -and, according to Craig, the place would be shipshape in another month -or six weeks. He said that his colleague, Hamilton Coulter, a former New -York architect now a naval lieutenant, was directing the work and doing -a magnificent job. Even under normal conditions it would have been a -staggering task. With glass and lumber at a premium, to say nothing of -the scarcity of skilled labor, a less resourceful man would have given up -in despair. - -[Illustration: Vermeer’s _Portrait of the Artist in His Studio_ in the -Alt Aussee mine was purchased by Hitler for his proposed museum. It has -been returned to Vienna.] - -[Illustration: One of the picture storage rooms in the mine, constructed -with wooden partitions and racks. The temperature was constant, averaging -40° Fahrenheit in summer, 47° in winter.] - -[Illustration: Panel from the Louvain altarpiece, _Feast of the -Passover_, by Bouts, was stored at Alt Aussee.] - -[Illustration: Hitler acquired the Czernin Vermeer for an alleged price -of 1,400,000 Reichsmarks.] - -Craig was rapidly building up a staff of German scholars and museum -technicians to assist him in the administration of the establishment. -It would soon rival a large American museum in complexity and scope. -Storage rooms on the ground floor had been made weatherproof. Paintings -and sculpture were already pouring in from the mine at Alt Aussee—six -truckloads at a time. In accordance with standard museum practice, Craig -had set up an efficient accessioning system. As each object came in, it -was identified, marked and listed for future reference. Quarters had been -set aside for a photographer. Racks were being built for pictures. A -two-storied record room was being converted into a library. - -Craig had also requisitioned the “twin” of this colossal building—the -Führerbau, where Hitler had had his own offices. This was only a -block away on the same street and also faced the Königsplatz. It was -connected with the Verwaltungsbau by underground passageways. It was in -the Führerbau that the Munich Pact of 1938—the pact that was to have -guaranteed “peace in our time”—had been signed. Craig showed me the table -at which Mr. Chamberlain had signed that document. Craig was using it now -for a conference table. - -Repairs were being concentrated on the Administration Building, since its -“twin” was being held in reserve for later use. At the moment, however, a -few of the rooms were occupied by a small guard detail. The truck drivers -and armed guards who came each week with the convoys from the mine were -also billeted there. - -Just as Craig and I were finishing our inspection of the Führerbau, -a convoy of six trucks, escorted by two half-tracks, pulled into the -parking space behind the building. The convoy leader had a letter for -me. It was the one George Stout had mentioned on the telephone. Lincoln -was right. The repository George had in mind was the monastery at -Hohenfurth. In his letter he stressed the fact that the evacuation should -be undertaken at once. He suggested that I try to persuade Posey to send -Lincoln along to help me. - -Craig had a comfortable billet in the Kopernikus-Strasse, a four-room -flat on the fourth floor of a modern apartment building. The back windows -looked onto a garden. Over the tops of the poplar trees beyond, one could -see the roof of the Prinz Regenten Theater where, back in the twenties, I -had seen my first complete performance of Wagner’s _Ring_. Craig told me -that the theater was undamaged except for the Speisesaal where, in prewar -days, lavish refreshments were served during intermissions. That one room -had caught a bomb. - -I accepted Craig’s invitation to share the apartment with him while -in Munich and made myself at home in the dining room. It had a couch, -and there was a sideboard which I could use as a chest of drawers. The -bathroom was across the hall and he said that the supply of hot water -was inexhaustible. By comparison, the officers’ billets at Third Army -Headquarters were tenements. - -Ham Coulter had similar quarters on the ground floor. We stopped there -for a drink on our way to supper at the Military Government Detachment. -“Civilized” was the word that best described Ham. He was a tall, -broad-shouldered fellow with sleek black hair, finely-chiseled features -and keen, gray eyes. When he smiled, his mouth crinkled up at the -corners, producing an agreeably sarcastic expression. Ham poured out the -drinks with an elegance the ordinary German cognac didn’t deserve. They -should have been dry martinis. I liked him at once that first evening, -and when I came to know him better I found him the wittiest and most -amiable of companions. He and Craig were a wonderful combination. They -had the greatest admiration and respect for each other, and during -the many months of their work together there was not the slightest -disagreement between them. - -The officers’ dining room that evening was a noisy place. The clatter -of knives and forks and the babble of voices mingled with the rasping -strains of popular American tunes pounded out by a Bavarian band. As we -were about to sit down, the music stopped abruptly and a second later -struck up the current favorite, “My Dreams Are Getting Better All the -Time.” Colonel Charles Keegan, the commanding officer, had entered the -dining hall. I was puzzled by this until Ham told me that it happened -every night. This particular piece was the colonel’s favorite tune and he -had ordered it to be played whenever he came in to dinner. The colonel -was a colorful character—short and florid, with a shock of white hair. -He had figured prominently in New York politics and would again, it was -said. He had already helped Craig over a couple of rough spots and if -some of his antics amused the MFA&A boys, they seemed to be genuinely -fond of him. - -While we were at dinner, three officers came and took their places at -a near-by table. Craig identified one of them as Captain Posey. I had -been told that he was in his middle thirties, but he looked younger than -that. He had a boyish face and I noticed that he laughed a great deal as -he talked with his two companions. When he wasn’t smiling, there was a -stubborn expression about his mouth, and I remembered that Lincoln had -said something about his “deceptively gentle manner.” On our way out I -introduced myself to him. He was very affable and seemed pleased at my -arrival. But he was tired after the long drive from Frankfurt, so, as -soon as I had arranged to meet him at his office the next day, I joined -Ham and Craig back at the apartment. - -I got out to Third Army Headquarters early the following morning and -found Captain Posey already at his desk, going through the papers which -had accumulated during his absence. We discussed George’s letter at -considerable length, and I was disappointed to find that he did not -intend to act on it at once. Somehow it had never occurred to me that -anyone would question a proposal of George’s. - -For one thing, Captain Posey said, he couldn’t spare Lincoln; and for -another, there was a very pressing job much nearer Munich which he wanted -me to handle. He then proceeded to tell me of a small village on the road -to Salzburg where I would find a house in which were stored some eighty -cases of paintings and sculpture from the Budapest Museum. He showed me -the place on the map and explained how I was to go about locating the -exact house upon arrival. I was to see a certain officer at Third Army -Headquarters without delay and make arrangements for trucks. He thought I -would need about five. It shouldn’t take more than half a day to do the -job if all went well. After this preliminary briefing, I was on my own. - -My first move was to get hold of the officer about the trucks. How many -did I need? When did I want them and where should he tell them to report? -I said I’d like to have five trucks at the Königsplatz the following -morning at eight-thirty. The officer explained that the drivers would be -French, as Third Army was using a number of foreign trucking companies to -relieve the existing shortage in transportation. - -Later in the day I had a talk with Lincoln about my plans and he gave me -a piece of advice which proved exceedingly valuable—that I should go -myself to the trucking company which was to provide the vehicles, and -personally confirm the arrangements. So, after lunch I struck out in a -jeep for the west side of Munich, a distance of some seven or eight miles. - -I found a lieutenant, who had charge of the outfit, and explained the -purpose of my visit. He had not been notified of the order for five -trucks. There was no telephone communication between his office and -headquarters, so all messages had to come by courier, and the courier -hadn’t come in that day. He was afraid he couldn’t let me have any trucks -before the following afternoon. I insisted that the matter was urgent and -couldn’t wait, and, after much deliberating and consulting of charts, he -relented. I told him a little something about the expedition for which I -wanted the trucks and he showed real interest. He suggested that I ought -to have extremely careful drivers. I replied that I should indeed, as we -would be hauling stuff of incalculable value. - -Thereupon he gave me a harrowing description of the group under his -supervision. All of them had been members of the French Resistance -Movement—ex-terrorists he called them—and they weren’t afraid of God, -man or the Devil. Well, I thought, isn’t that comforting! “Oh, yes,” he -said, “these Frenchies drive like crazy men. But,” he continued, “one -of the fellows has got some sense. I’ll see if I can get him for you.” -He went over to the window that looked out on a parking ground littered -with vehicles of various kinds. Here and there I saw a mechanic bent over -an open hood or sprawled out beneath a truck. The lieutenant bellowed, -“Leclancher, come up here to my office!” - -A few seconds later a wiry, sandy-haired Frenchman of about forty-five -appeared in the doorway. Leclancher understood some English, for he -reacted with alert nods of the head as the lieutenant gave a brief -description of the job ahead, and then turned and asked me if I spoke -French. I told him I did, if he had enough patience. This struck him as -inordinately funny, but I was being quite serious. What really pleased -him was the fact that I was in the Navy. He said that he had been in -the Navy during the first World War. Then and there a lasting bond was -formed, though I didn’t appreciate the value of it at the time. - -Eight-thirty the next morning found me pacing the Königsplatz. Not -a truck in sight. Nine o’clock and still no trucks. At nine thirty, -one truck rolled up. Leclancher leaped out and with profuse apologies -explained that the other four were having carburetor trouble. There -had been water in the gas, too, and that hadn’t helped. For an hour -Leclancher and I idled about, whiling away the time with conversation -of no consequence, other than that it served to limber up my French. At -eleven o’clock Leclancher looked at his watch and said that it would -soon be time for lunch. It was obvious that he understood the Army’s -conception of a day as a brief span of time, in the course of which one -eats three meals. If it is not possible to finish a given job during the -short pauses between those meals, well, there’s always the next day. I -told him to go to his lunch and to come back as soon as he could round up -the other trucks. In the meantime I would get something to eat near by. - -When I returned shortly after eleven thirty—having eaten a K ration under -the portico of the Verwaltungsbau in lieu of a more formal lunch—my -five trucks were lined up ready to go. I appointed Leclancher “chef de -convoi”—a rather high-sounding title for such a modest caravan—and he -assigned positions to the other drivers, taking the end truck himself. -Since my jeep failed to arrive, I climbed into the lead truck. The driver -was an amiable youngster whose name was Roger Roget. During the next -few weeks he was the lead driver in all of my expeditions, and I took to -calling him “Double Roger,” which I think he never quite understood. - -To add to my anxiety over our belated start, a light rain began to fall -as we pulled out of the Königsplatz and turned into the Brienner-Strasse. -We threaded our way cautiously through the slippery streets choked with -military traffic, crossed the bridge over the Isar and swung into the -broad Rosenheimer-Strasse leading to the east. - -Once on the Autobahn, Roger speeded up. The speedometer needle quivered -up to thirty-five, forty and finally forty-five miles an hour. I pointed -to it, shaking my head. “We must not exceed thirty-five, Roger.” - -He promptly slowed down, and as we rolled along, I forgot the worries -of the morning. I dozed comfortably. Suddenly we struck an unexpected -hole in the road and I woke up. We were doing fifty. This time I spoke -sharply, reminding Roger that the speed limit was thirty-five and that we -were to stay within it; if we didn’t we’d be arrested, because the road -was well patrolled. With a tolerant grin Roger said, “Oh, no, we never -get arrested. The MPs, they stop us and get very angry, but—” with a -shrug of the shoulders—“we do not understand. They throw the hands up in -the air and say ‘dumb Frenchies’ and we go ahead.” - -“That may work with you,” I said crossly, “but what about me? I’m not a -‘dumb Frenchy.’” - -For the next hour I pretended to doze and at the same time kept an eye on -the speedometer. This worked pretty well. Now and again I would look up, -and each time, Roger would modify his speed. - -Presently we came to a bad detour, where a bridge was out. We had to -make a sharp turn to the left, leave the Autobahn and descend a steep -and tortuous side road into a deep ravine. That day the narrow road was -slippery from the rain, so we had to crawl along. The drop into the -valley was a matter of two or three hundred feet and, as we reached -the bottom, we could see the monstrous wreckage of the bridge hanging -drunkenly in mid-air. The ascent was even more precarious, but our five -trucks got through. - -We had now left the level country around Munich and were in a region of -rolling hills. Along the horizon, gray clouds half concealed the distant -peaks. Soon the rain stopped and the sun came out. The mountains changed -to misty blue against an even bluer sky. The road rose sharply, and when -we reached the crest, I caught a glimpse of shimmering water. It was -Chiemsee, largest of the Bavarian lakes. - -In another ten minutes the road flattened out again and we came to the -turnoff marked “Prien.” There we left the Autobahn for a narrow side -road which took us across green meadows. Nothing could have looked more -peaceful than this lush, summer countryside. Reports of SS troops still -hiding out in the near-by forests seemed preposterous in the pastoral -tranquillity. Yet only a few days before, our troops had rounded up a -small band of these die-hards in this neighborhood. The SS men had come -down from the foothills on a foraging expedition and had been captured -while attempting to raid a farmhouse. It was because of just such -incidents, as well as the ever-present fire hazard, that I had been sent -down to remove the museum treasures to a place of safety. - -The road was dwindling away to a cow path and I was beginning to wonder -how much farther we could go with our two-and-a-half-ton trucks, when we -came to a small cluster of houses. This was Grassau. I had been told -that a small detachment of troops was billeted there, so I singled out -the largest of the little white houses grouped around the only crossroads -in the village. It had clouded over and begun to rain again. As I entered -the gate and was crossing the yard, the door of the house was opened by a -corporal. - -He didn’t seem surprised to see me. Someone at Munich had sent down word -to Prien that I was coming, and the message had reached him from there. I -asked if he knew where the things I had come for were stored. He motioned -to the back of the house and said there were two rooms full of big -packing cases. He explained that he and one other man had been detailed -to live in the house because of the “stuff” stored there. They had been -instructed to keep an eye on the old man who claimed to be responsible -for it. That would be Dr. Csanky, director of the Budapest Museum, who, -according to my information, would probably raise unqualified hell when I -came to cart away his precious cases. The corporal told me that the old -man and his son occupied rooms on the second floor. - -I was relieved to hear that they were not at home. It would make things -much simpler if I could get my trucks loaded and be on my way before -they returned. It was already well after two and I wanted to start back -by five at the latest. I asked rather tentatively about the chances of -getting local talent to help with the loading, and the corporal promptly -offered to corral a gang of PWs who were working under guard near by. - -While he went off to see about that, I marshaled my trucks. There was -enough room to back one truck at a time to the door of the house. A few -minutes later the motley “work party” arrived. There were eight of them -in all and they ranged from a young fellow of sixteen, wearing a faded -German uniform, to a reedy old man of sixty. By and large, they looked -husky enough for the job. - -I knew enough not to ask my drivers to help, but knew that the work would -go much faster if they would lend a hand. Leclancher must have read my -thoughts, for he immediately offered his services. As soon as the other -four saw what Leclancher was doing, they followed suit. - -There were eighty-one cases in all. They varied greatly in size, because -some of them contained sculpture and, consequently, were both bulky and -heavy. Others, built for big canvases, were very large and flat but -relatively light. We had to “design” our loads in such a way as to keep -cases of approximately the same type together. This was necessary for -two reasons: first, the cases would ride better that way, and second, we -hadn’t any too much space. As I roughly figured it, we should be able to -get them all in the five trucks, but we couldn’t afford to be prodigal in -our loading. - -The work went along smoothly for an hour and we were just finishing the -second truck when I saw two men approaching. They were Dr. Csanky and -his son. This was what I had hoped to avoid. The doctor was a dapper -little fellow with a white mustache and very black eyes. He was wearing -a corduroy jacket and a flowing bow tie. The artistic effect was topped -off by a beret set at a jaunty angle. His son was a callow string bean -with objectionably soulful eyes magnified by horn-rimmed spectacles. They -came over to the truck and began to jabber and wave their arms. We paid -no attention whatever—just kept on methodically lifting one case after -another out of the storage room. - -The dapper doctor got squarely in my path and I had to stop. I checked -his flow of words with a none too civil “Do you speak English?” That drew -a blank, so I asked if he spoke German. No luck there either. Feeling -like an ad for the Berlitz School, I inquired whether he spoke French. -He said “Yes,” but the stream of Hungarian-French which rolled out from -that white mustache was unintelligible. It was hopeless. At last I simply -had to take him by the shoulders and gently but firmly set him aside. -This was the ultimate indignity, but it worked. At that juncture he and -the string bean took off. I didn’t know what they were up to and I didn’t -care, so long as they left us alone. - -Our respite was short-lived. By the time we had the third truck ready to -move away, they were back. And they had come with reinforcements: two -women were with them. One was a rather handsome dowager who looked out of -place in this rural setting. Her gray hair, piled high, was held in place -by a scarlet bandanna, and she was wearing a shabby dress of green silk. -Despite this getup, there was something rather commanding about her. She -introduced herself as the wife of General Ellenlittay and explained in -perfect English that Dr. Csanky had come to her in great distress. Would -I be so kind as to tell her what was happening so that she could inform -him? - -“I am removing these cases on the authority of the Commanding General -of the Third United States Army,” I said. If she were going to throw -generals’ names around, I could produce one too—and a better one at that. - -Her response to my pompous pronouncement was delivered charmingly and -with calculated deflationary effect. “Dear sir, forgive me if I seemed to -question your authority. That was not my intention. It is quite apparent -that you are removing the pictures, but where are you taking them?” - -“I am sorry, but I am not at liberty to say,” I replied. That too -sounded rather lordly, but I consoled myself by recalling that Posey had -admonished me not to answer questions like that. - -She relayed this information to Dr. Csanky and the effect was -startling. He covered his face with his hands and I thought he was going -to cry. Finally he pulled himself together and let forth a flood of -unintelligible consonants. His interpreter tackled me again. - -“Dr. Csanky is frantic. He says that he is responsible to his government -for the safety of these treasures and since you are taking them away, -there is nothing left for him to do but to blow his brains out.” - -My patience was exhausted. I said savagely, “Tell Dr. Csanky for me that -he can blow his brains out if he chooses, but I think it would be silly. -If you must know, Madame, I am a museum director myself and you can -assure him that no harm is going to come to his precious pictures.” - -I should never have mentioned that I had even so much as been inside -a museum, for, from that moment until we finished loading the last -truck, the little doctor never left my side. I was his “cher collègue,” -and he kept up a steady barrage of questions which the patient Madame -Ellenlittay tried to pass along to me without interrupting our work. - -As we lined the trucks up, preparatory to starting back to Munich, Dr. -Csanky produced several long lists of what the cases contained. He asked -me to sign them. This I refused to do but explained to him through -the general’s wife that if he cared to have the lists translated from -Hungarian and forwarded to Third Army Headquarters, they could be checked -against the contents and eventually returned to him with a notation to -that effect. - -Our little convoy rolled out of Grassau at six o’clock, leaving the group -of Hungarians waving forlornly from the corner. Just before we turned -onto the Autobahn, Leclancher signaled from the rear truck for us to -stop. He came panting up to the lead truck with a bottle in his hand. -With a gallant wave of the arm he said that we must drink to the success -of the expedition. It was a bottle of Calvados—fiery and wonderful. We -each took a generous swig and then—with a rowdy “en voiture!”—we were on -our way again. It was a nice gesture. - -The trip back to Munich was uneventful except for the extraordinary -beauty of the long summer evening. The sunset had all the extravagance -of the tropics. The sky blazed with opalescent clouds. As we drove into -Munich, the whole city was suffused with a coral light which produced -a more authentic atmosphere of Götterdämmerung than the most ingenious -stage Merlin could have contrived. - -It was nearly nine when we rolled into the parking area behind the -Führerbau—too late to think about unloading and also, I was afraid, too -late to get any supper. We had pieced out with K rations and candy bars, -but were still hungry. A mess sergeant, lolling on the steps of the -building, reluctantly produced some lukewarm stew. After we had eaten, I -prevailed on one of the building guards to take my five drivers out to -their billets south of town. It was Saturday night. I told Leclancher we -would probably be making a longer trip on Monday and that I would need -ten drivers. He promised to select five more good men, and we arranged to -meet in the square as we had that morning. But Monday, he promised, they -would be on time. - -After checking the tarpaulins on my five trucks, I sauntered over to the -Central Collecting Point on the off-chance that Craig might be working -late. I found him looking at some of the pictures which George had sent -in that day from the mine. The German packers whom Craig had been able to -hire from one of the old established firms in Munich—one which had worked -exclusively for the museums there—had finished unloading the trucks only -a couple of hours earlier. Most of the things in this shipment had -been found at the mine, so now the pictures were stacked according to -size in neat rows about the room. In one of them we found two brilliant -portraits by Mme. Vigée-Lebrun. Labels on the front identified them as -the likenesses of Prince Schuvalov and of the Princess Golowine. Marks -on the back indicated that they were from the Lanckoroncki Collection -in Vienna, one of the most famous art collections in Europe. Hitler was -rumored to have acquired it en bloc—through forced sale, it was said—for -the great museum he planned to build at Linz. In another stack we came -upon a superb Rubens landscape, a fine portrait by Hals and two sparkling -allegorical scenes by Tiepolo. These had no identifying labels other -than the numbers which referred to lists we didn’t have at the moment. -However, Craig said that the documentation on the pictures, as a whole, -was surprisingly complete. Then we ran into a lot of nineteenth century -German masters—Lenbach, Spitzweg, Thoma and the like. These Hitler had -particularly admired, but they didn’t thrill me. I was getting sleepy and -suggested that we had had enough art for one day. I still had a report of -the day’s doings to write up for Captain Posey before I could turn in, so -we padlocked the room and took off. - -Even though the next day was Sunday, it was not a day of rest for me. -The trek to Hohenfurth, scheduled for Monday, involved infinitely more -complicated preliminary arrangements than the easy run of yesterday. -Captain Posey got out maps of the area into which the convoy would be -traveling; gave me the names of specific outfits from whom I would have -to obtain clearance as well as escorts along the way; and, most important -of all, supplied information concerning the material to be transported. -None of it, I learned, was cased. He thought it consisted mainly of -paintings, but there was probably also some furniture. This wasn’t too -definite. Nor did we have a very clear idea as to the exact number of -trucks we would need. I had spoken for ten on the theory that a larger -number would make too cumbersome a convoy. At least I didn’t want to be -responsible for more at that stage of the game, inexperienced as I was. -In the circumstances, two seasoned packers might, I thought, come in -handy, so I was to see if I could borrow a couple of Craig’s men. There -was the problem of rations for the trip up and back. Posey procured a big -supply of C rations, not so good as the K’s, but they would do. While at -Hohenfurth we would be fed by the American outfit stationed there. It was -a good thing that there was so much to be arranged, because it kept me -from worrying about a lot of things that could and many that did happen -on that amazing expedition. - -In the afternoon I went out to make sure of my trucks and on the way back -put in a bid for the two packers. My request wasn’t very popular, because -Craig was shorthanded, but he thought he could spare two since it was to -be only a three-day trip—one day to go up, one day at Hohenfurth, and -then back the third day. Craig gloomily predicted that I’d never get ten -trucks loaded in one day, but I airily tossed that off with the argument -that we had loaded five trucks at Grassau in less than four hours. “But -that stuff was all in cases,” he said. “You’ll find it slow going with -loose pictures.” Of course he was right, but I didn’t believe it at the -time. - - - - -(4) - -_MASTERPIECES IN A MONASTERY_ - - -We woke up to faultless weather the following morning, and on the way -down to the Königsplatz with Craig I was in an offensively optimistic -frame of mind. All ten of my trucks were there. This was more like it—no -tiresome mechanical delays. We were all set to go. Leclancher had even -had the foresight to bring along an extra driver, just in case anything -happened to one of the ten. That was a smart idea and I congratulated him -for having thought of it. - -It wasn’t till I started distributing the rations that I discovered our -two packers were missing. But that shouldn’t take long to straighten -out. Craig’s office was just across the way. I found them cooling their -heels in the anteroom. They looked as though they had come right out of -an Arthur Rackham illustration—stocky little fellows with gnarled hands -and wizened faces as leathery as the _Lederhosen_ they were wearing. Each -wore a coal-scuttle hat with a jaunty feather, and each had a bulging -bandanna attached to the end of a stick. There was much bowing and -scraping. The hats were doffed and there was the familiar “Grüss Gott, -Herr Kapitän,” when I walked in. - -Craig appeared and explained the difficulty. Until the last minute, no -one had thought to ask whether the men had obtained a Military Government -permit to leave the area—and of course they hadn’t. With all due respect -to the workings of Military Government, I knew that it would take hours, -even days, to obtain the permits. So, what to do? I asked Craig what -would happen if they went without them. He didn’t know. But if anyone -found out about it, there would be trouble. I didn’t see any reason why -anyone should find out about it. The men would be in my charge and I said -I’d assume all responsibility. - -Meanwhile the two Rackham characters were shifting uneasily from one foot -to the other, looking first at Craig and then at me, without the faintest -idea what the fuss was all about. Craig reluctantly left it up to me. Not -wanting to waste any more time, I told the little fellows that everything -was “in Ordnung” and bundled them off to the waiting trucks. - -Again our way led out to the east, the same road we had taken two days -before; and again I was perched up in the lead truck with Double Roger. -The country was more beautiful than ever in the morning sunlight. -We skirted the edge of Chiemsee and sped on through Traunstein. The -mountains loomed closer, their crests gleaming with snow. Roger commented -that it was “_la neige éternelle_,” and I was struck by the unconscious -poetry of the phrase. - -To save time we ate our midday rations en route, pulling off to one side -of the Autobahn in the neighborhood of Bad Reichenhall. Farther on we -came to a fork in the highway. A sign to the right pointed temptingly -to Berchtesgaden, only thirty kilometers away. But our road was the one -to the left—to Salzburg. In another few minutes we saw its picturesque -fortress, outlined against the sky, high above the town. - -I had to make some inquiries in Salzburg. Not knowing the exact location -of the headquarters where I could obtain the information I needed, I -thought it prudent to park the convoy on the outskirts and go on ahead -with a single truck. It probably wasn’t going to be any too easy, even -with exact directions, to get all ten of them through the narrow -streets, across the river and out the other side. This was where a jeep -would have come in handy. I had been a fool not to insist on having one -for this trip. - -Leclancher asked if he might go along with Roger and me. The three of -us drove off, leaving the other nine drivers and the two little packers -to take their ease in the warm meadow beside which we had halted. It -was about three miles into the center of town and the road was full -of confusing turns. But on the whole it was well marked with Army -signs. Before the end of the summer I became reasonably proficient in -translating the cabalistic symbols on these markers, but at that time -I was hopelessly untutored and neither of my companions was any help. -After driving through endless gray archways and being soundly rebuked -by the MPs for going the wrong direction on several one-way streets, we -found ourselves in a broad square paved with cobblestones. It was the -Mozartplatz. - -The lieutenant colonel I was supposed to see had his office in one of the -dove-colored buildings facing the square. It was a big, high-ceilinged -room with graceful rococo decorations along the walls and a delicate -prism chandelier in the center. I asked the colonel for clearance to -proceed to Linz with my convoy. After I had explained the purpose of my -trip to Hohenfurth, he offered to expedite the additional clearance I -would need beyond Linz. - -He rang up the headquarters of the 65th Infantry Division which was -stationed there. In a few minutes everything had been arranged. The -colonel at the other end of the line said that he would send one of his -officers to the outskirts of the city to conduct us to his headquarters -on our arrival. There would be no difficulty about billets. He would -also take care of our clearance across the Czechoslovakian border -the following day. I thanked the colonel and hurried down to rejoin -Leclancher and Roger. - -Since the proposed Autobahn to Linz had never been finished, we had to -take a secondary highway east of Salzburg. Our road led through gently -rolling country with mountains in the distance. I was grateful for the -succession of villages along the way. They were a relief after the -monotony of the Autobahn and also served to control the speed of the -convoy. We wound through streets so narrow that one could have reached -out and touched the potted geraniums which lined the balconies of the -cottages on either side. Laughing, towheaded children waved from the -doorways as we passed by. Roger, intent on his driving, didn’t respond to -the exuberance of the youngsters, and I wondered if he might be thinking -of the villages of his own country, where the invaders had left a bitter -legacy of wan faces. - -It was after seven when we reached the battered outskirts of Linz, the -city of Hitler’s special adoration. He had lavished his attention on the -provincial old town, his mother’s birthplace, hoping to make it a serious -rival of Vienna as an art center. To this end, plans for a magnificent -museum had been drawn up, and already an impressive collection of -pictures had been assembled against the day when a suitable building -would be ready to receive them. - -We approached the city from the west—its most damaged sector. It was -rough going, as the streets were full of chuckholes and narrowed by piles -of rubble heaped high on both sides. There was no sign of an escort, -so we drew up beside an information post at a main intersection. Our -cavalcade was too large to miss, as long as we stayed in one place. -We waited nearly an hour before a jeep came along. A jaunty young -lieutenant came over, introduced himself as the colonel’s “emissary” -and said that he had been combing the town for us. The confusion of -the debris-filled streets had caused us to take a wrong turn and, -consequently, we had missed the main thoroughfare into town. The -lieutenant, whose name was George Anderson, led us by a devious route -to a large, barrackslike building with a forecourt which afforded -ample parking space for the trucks. Billets had already been arranged, -as promised, but to get food at such a late hour was another matter. -However, by dint of coaxing in the right quarter, Anderson even contrived -to do that. - -As we drove off in his jeep to the hotel where the officers were -billeted, he remarked with a laugh that he wouldn’t be able to do as -well by me but thought he could dig up something. The hotel was called -the “Weinzinger,” and Anderson said that Hitler had often stayed there. -Leaving me to get settled, he went off on a foraging expedition. He -returned shortly with an armful of rations, a bottle of cognac and a -small contraption that looked like a tin case for playing cards. This -ingenious little device, with a turn of the wrist, opened out into a -miniature stove. Fuel for it came in the form of white lozenges that -resembled moth balls. Two of these, lighted simultaneously, produced a -flame of such intensity that one could boil water in less than a quarter -of an hour. I got out my mess kit while Anderson opened the rations, and -in ten minutes we whipped up a hot supper of lamb stew. With a generous -slug of cognac for appetizer, the lack of variety in the menu was -completely forgotten. - -While we topped off with chocolate bars, I asked him about conditions up -the line in the direction of Hohenfurth. - -“You won’t have any trouble once you reach Hohenfurth, because it’s -occupied by our troops,” he said, “but before swinging north into -Czechoslovakia you’ll have to pass through Russian-held Austrian -territory.” - -This was bad news, for I had no clearance from the Russians. I hadn’t -foreseen the need of it. Captain Posey couldn’t have known about it -either because he was punctilious and would never have let me start off -without the necessary papers. - -I had heard stories of the attitude of the Russians toward anyone -entering their territory without proper authorization. An officer in -Munich told me that his convoy had been stopped. He had been subjected to -a series of interrogations and not allowed to proceed for a week. - -“Could your colonel obtain clearance for me from the Russians?” I asked. - -“He could try, but it would probably take weeks,” Anderson said. “If -you’re in a hurry, your best bet is to take a chance and go on through -without clearance. You never can tell about the Russians. They might stop -you and again they might not.” - -Then I mentioned my problem children—my German packers. Anderson didn’t -think the Russians would look on them with much favor, if my trucks were -stopped and inspected. I asked about another road to Hohenfurth. Perhaps -there was one to the west of the Russian lines. He didn’t know about any -other route but said that we could take a look at the big map in the -O.D.’s office on the next floor. - -To my great relief, it appeared that there was another road—one which ran -parallel with the main road, four or five miles to the west of it. But -Anderson tempered enthusiasm with the remark that it might not be wide -enough for my two-and-a-half-ton trucks. There was nothing on the map to -indicate whether it was much more than a cow path and the duty officer -didn’t know. One of the other officers might be able to tell me. I could -ask in the morning. - -That night I worried a good deal about the hazards that seemed to lie -ahead, and woke up feeling depressed. Things, I reflected, had been going -too well. I should have guessed that there would be rough spots here and -there. After early breakfast I called to thank the colonel, Anderson’s -chief, for his kindness, and while in his office had a chance to inquire -about the alternate route. - -“The back road is all right,” he said without hesitation. “Take it by -all means. You will cross the Czech frontier just north of Leonfelden. -A telephone call to our officer at the border control will fix that up. -You should be able to make Hohenfurth in about two hours. The C.O. at -Hohenfurth is Lieutenant Colonel Sheehan of the 263rd Field Artillery -Battalion.” - -On my way through the outer office I stopped for a word with Lieutenant -Anderson, and while there the colonel gave instructions about the call -to the border control post. That done, Anderson said, “If you’ve got a -minute, there’s something I want to show you.” I followed him down the -stairs and through the back entrance of the hotel to the broad esplanade -beside the Danube. The river was beautiful that morning. Its swiftly -flowing waters were really blue. - -We walked over to the river where a white yacht tugged at her moorings. -She was the _Ungaria_, presented by Hitler to Admiral Horthy, the -Hungarian Regent. Anderson took me aboard and we made a tour of her -luxurious cabins. She was about a hundred twenty feet over all and her -fittings were lavish to the last detail. The vessel was now in the -custody of the American authorities, but her original crew was still -aboard. - -After this unexpected nautical adventure, Anderson took me to my trucks -and saw us off on the last lap of the journey. Beyond Urfahr, the town -across the Danube from Linz, we turned north. It was slow going for -the convoy because the road was steep and winding. Our progress was -further impeded by an endless line of horse-drawn carts and wagons, all -moving in the direction of Linz. Most of them were filled with household -furnishings. Presently the road straightened out and we entered a region -of rolling, upland meadows and deep pine forests. After an hour and a -half’s drive we reached Leonfelden, a pretty village with a seventeenth -century church nestling in a shallow valley. Just beyond it was the -frontier. We identified ourselves to the two officers—one American, the -other Czech—and continued on our way. Our entry into Czechoslovakia had -been singularly undramatic. In another twenty minutes we pulled into -Hohenfurth. - -It was not a particularly prepossessing village on first sight. Drab, -one-story houses lined the one main street. The headquarters of the 263rd -Field Artillery Battalion occupied an unpretentious corner building. -Lieutenant Colonel John R. Sheehan, the C.O., was a big, amiable fellow, -with a Boston-Irish accent. - -“If you’ve come for that stuff in the monastery,” he said, “just tell -me what you need and I’ll see that you get it. I’m anxious to get the -place cleared out because we’re not going to be here much longer. When we -leave, the Czechs are going to take over.” The colonel called for Major -Coleman W. Thacher, his “Exec,” a pleasant young Bostonian, and told him -to see that I was properly taken care of. The major, in turn, instructed -his sergeant to show me the way to the monastery and to provide billets -for my men. - -It was after eleven, but the sergeant said we’d have time to take a look -at the monastery before chow. He suggested that we take the trucks to -the monastery, which was not more than three-quarters of a mile from -headquarters. We drove down a narrow side street to the outskirts of -town. The small villas on either side were being used for officers’ -billets. The street ended abruptly, and up ahead to the left, on a slight -eminence, I saw the cream-colored walls of the monastery. - -A curving dirt road wound around to the entrance on the west side. -The monastery consisted of a series of rambling buildings forming two -courtyards. In the center of the larger of these stood a chapel of -impressive proportions. An arched passageway, leading through one of the -buildings on the rim of the enclosure, provided the only means of access -to the main courtyard. It had plenty of “Old World charm” but looked -awfully small in comparison with our trucks. - -Leclancher pooh-poohed my fears and said he’d take his truck through. He -did—that is, part way through. With a hideous scraping sound the truck -came to a sudden stop. The bows supporting the tarpaulin had not cleared -the sloping sides of the pointed arch. This was a fine mess, for it was -a good two hundred yards from the entrance to the building, behind the -chapel, in which the things were stored. It would prolong the operation -beyond all reason if we had to carry them all that way to the trucks. -And what if it rained? As if in answer to my apprehension, it suddenly -did rain, a hard drenching downpour. I should have had more faith in the -resourcefulness of my Frenchmen; at that critical juncture Leclancher -announced that he had found the solution. The bows of the trucks could be -forced down just enough to clear the archway. - -As soon as this had been done, nine of the trucks filed through and lined -up alongside the buttresses of the chapel. The tenth remained outside to -take the drivers and the two packers to chow. After seeing to it that -they were properly cared for, the sergeant deposited me at the officers’ -mess. - -At lunch, Colonel Sheehan introduced me to the military Government -Officer of his outfit, Major Lewis W. Whittemore, a bluff Irishman, who -gave me considerable useful information about the setup at the monastery. - -“Mutter, an elderly Austrian, is in charge of the collections stored -there—a custodian appointed by the Nazis. He is a dependable fellow -so we’ve allowed him to stay on the job. You’ll find him thoroughly -co-operative,” said the major. “One of the buildings of the monastery is -being used as a hospital for German wounded.” - -“Are there any monks about the place?” I asked. - -“Hitler ran them all out, but a few have returned. When Hohenfurth -is turned over to the Czechs, it will make quite a change in this -Sudetenland community. Even the name is going to be changed—to its Czech -equivalent, Vysi Brod. All the signs in town will be printed in Czech, -too. It will be the official language. Except for a few families, the -entire population is German.” - -“How will that work?” I asked. - -The major apparently interpreted my question as an expression -of disapproval of the impending change-over, for he said rather -belligerently, “The Czechs in this region have had a mighty raw deal from -the Germans during the past few years.” I rallied weakly with the pious -observation that two wrongs had never made a right and that I hoped some -satisfactory solution to the knotty problem could be reached. - -By the time we had finished lunch the rain had dwindled to a light -drizzle. I started out on foot to the monastery, leaving word at the -colonel’s quarters for the sergeant to meet me in the courtyard of the -_Kloster_. He got there about the same time I did, and together we -started looking for Dr. Mutter, the Austrian custodian. We went first -to the library of the monastery—a beautiful baroque room lined with -sumptuous bookcases of burled walnut surmounted with elaborate carved and -gilded scroll-shaped decorations. The room was beautifully proportioned, -some seventy feet long and about forty feet wide. Tall French windows -looked out on the peaceful monastery garden, which, for lack of care, was -now overgrown with tangled vines and brambles. Along the opposite side -of the handsome room stood a row of massive sixteenth century Italian -refectory tables piled high with miscellaneous bric-a-brac: Empire -candelabra, Moorish plates, Venetian glass, Della Robbia plaques and -Persian ceramics. Across one end, an assortment of Louis Quinze sofas -and chairs seemed equally out of place. What, I wondered, were these -incongruous objects doing in this religious establishment? - -The explanation was soon forthcoming. The sergeant found Dr. Mutter in -a small room adjoining the library. He was a lanky, studious individual -with a shock of snow-white hair, prominent teeth and a gentle manner -which just missed being fawning. Hohenfurth’s Uriah Heep, I thought -unkindly. The moment he began to speak in halting English, I revised my -estimate of him. He was neither crafty nor vicious. On the contrary, he -was just a timid, and, at the moment, frightened victim of circumstance. -What German I know has an Austrian flavor, and when I trotted this out -he was so embarrassingly happy that I wished I had kept my tongue in -my head. But it served to establish an _entente cordiale_ which proved -valuable during the next few days. They were to be more hectic than I had -even faintly imagined. - -After a little introductory palaver, I explained that I had come to -remove the collections which had been brought to the monastery by the -Germans, and that I would like to make a preliminary tour of inspection. -I suggested that we look first at the paintings. - -“Paintings?” he asked doubtfully. “You mean the modern pictures? They -are not very good—just the work of some of the Nazi artists. They were -brought here—and quite a lot of sculpture too—when it was announced that -Hitler was coming to Hohenfurth to see the really important things.” - -Then I learned what he meant by the “really important things”—room after -room, corridor after corridor, all crammed with furniture and sculpture, -methodically looted from two fabulous collections, the Rothschild of -Vienna and the Mannheimer of Amsterdam. By comparison, the Hearst -collection at Gimbel’s was trifling. The things I had seen in the library -were only a small part of this mélange. In an adjoining chamber—a vaulted -gallery, fifty feet long—there were a dozen pieces of French and Dutch -marquetry. And stacked against the walls were entire paneled rooms, -coffered ceilings and innumerable marble busts. Next to that was a room -crowded with more of the same sort of thing, except that the pieces were -small and more delicate. In one corner I saw an extraordinary table made -entirely of tortoise shell and mounted with exquisite ormolu. - -It was an antique-hunter’s paradise, but for me quite the reverse. How -was I going to move all of this stuff? Dr. Mutter could see that I was -perplexed, and apologetically added that I had seen only a part of the -collections. Remembering that I had asked to see the pictures, he took -me to a corner room containing approximately a hundred canvases. As he -had said, they were a thoroughly dull lot—portraits of Hitler, Hess -and some of the other Nazi leaders, tiresome allegorical scenes, a few -battle subjects and a group of landscapes. The labels pasted on the -backs indicated that they had all been shown at one time or another -in exhibitions at the Haus der Deutschen Kunst in Munich. While I was -looking at them, Dr. Mutter shyly confessed that he was a painter but -that he didn’t admire this kind of work. - -On the floor below, there was a forest of contemporary German -sculpture—plaster casts, for the most part, all patinated to resemble -bronze. In addition there were a few portrait busts in bronze and one -or two pieces in glazed terra cotta. The terra-cotta pieces had some -merit. The sculpture occupied one entire side of a broad corridor which -ran around the four sides of a charming inner garden. The corridor had -originally been open but the archways were now glassed in. Turning a -corner, we came upon a jumble of architectural fragments—carved Gothic -pinnacles, sections of delicately chiseled moldings, colonnettes, -Florentine well-heads and wall fountains. At one end was a pair of -elaborate gilded wrought-iron doors and at either side were handsome wall -lanterns, also of wrought iron. These too were Mannheimer, Dr. Mutter -replied, when I hopefully asked if they were not a part of the monastery -fittings. - -As final proof of the looters’ thorough methods, I was shown a vaulted -reception hall, into the walls of which had been set a large and -magnificent relief by Luca della Robbia, a smaller but also very -beautiful relief of the Madonna and Child by some Florentine sculptor -of the fifteenth century, and an enormous carved stone fireplace of -Renaissance workmanship. The hall was stacked with huge cases as yet -unpacked, and from the ceiling were suspended two marvelous Venetian -glass chandeliers—exotic accents against a background of chaste plaster -walls. - -This partial tour of inspection ended with a smaller room across from the -reception hall where Dr. Mutter proudly exhibited what he considered the -finest thing of all—a life-sized, seated marble portrait by Canova. It -was indeed a distinguished piece of work. Hitler had bought the statue in -Vienna, so Dr. Mutter said, from the Princess Windischgrätz. It had been -destined for the Führer Museum at Linz. - -I learned afterward that the statue had belonged at one time to the -Austrian emperor, Franz Josef. Canova began the statue in 1812 as a -portrait of Maria-Elisa, Princess of Lucca—a sister of Napoleon. The -sculptor’s more celebrated portrait of Napoleon’s sister Pauline had been -carved a few years earlier. When Maria-Elisa lost her throne and fortune, -she was unable to pay for the portrait. But Canova was resourceful: he -changed the portrait into a statue of Polyhymnia, the Muse of poetry -and song. He accomplished this metamorphosis by idealizing the head and -adding the appropriate attributes of the Muse. Later the statue was -given to Franz Josef. Eventually it passed into the collection of his -granddaughter—the daughter of Rudolf, who died at Mayerling—the Princess -Windischgrätz. - -The statue was one of the most delicate and graceful examples of the -great neoclassic master’s style, and I marveled both at its cold -perfection and the fact that it had come through its travels completely -unscathed. For all her airy elegance, the Muse must weigh at least a -ton and a half, I calculated—suddenly coming down to earth with the -realization that I would be expected to take her back to Munich! - -Over Dr. Mutter’s protest that I had not yet seen everything, I said -that I should get my men started. There was no time to be lost. Colonel -Sheehan provided eight men and, after cautioning them about the value and -fragility of the objects, I detailed Dr. Mutter to supervise their work. -The first job was to bring some of the furniture down to the ground -floor. As yet we had no packing materials, so we could do no actual -loading. The next step was to show the packers what we were up against. -At first they went from room to room shaking their heads and muttering, -but after I had explained that we would only select certain things, they -cheered up and set to work. Luckily, some of the furniture had a fair -amount of protective padding—paper stuffed with excelsior—and that could -be used until we were able to get more. We had enough, they agreed, to -figure on perhaps two truckloads. Leaving them to mull over that, I went -off to round up a couple of the trucks. Here was another problem. Not -only did the furniture have to be brought down a long flight of stone -stairs, but to reach the stairs in the first place it had to be carried a -distance of two hundred yards. Once down the stairs it had to be carried -another two hundred yards down a long sloping ramp to the only doorway -opening onto the courtyard. I told Leclancher to bring one of the trucks -around to that doorway and then took off in search of paper, excelsior, -rope and blankets. In one of the near-by sheds I found only a small -supply of paper and some twine. We would need much more. - -Major Whittemore came to the rescue and drove me to a lumber and paper -mill several kilometers away. As we drove along he told me that he had -been having trouble with the German managers of the mill, but they knew -now that he meant business, so I was not to _ask_ for what I wanted, -I was to _tell_ them. At the mill I got a generous supply of paper, -excelsior and rope and, on my return to the monastery, sent one of the -trucks back to pick it up. But there wasn’t a spare blanket to be had in -all of Hohenfurth. - -When I got back, it looked like moving day. The ramp was already lined -with tables, chairs and chests. Dr. Mutter was running back and forth, -cautioning one GI not to drop a delicate cabinet, helping another with an -overambitious armful of equal rarity and all the while trying in vain to -check the numbers marked on the pieces as they flowed down the stairs in -a steady stream. Meanwhile, my two packers trudged up and down the ramp, -lugging heavy chests and monstrous panels which looked more than a match -for men twice their size. - -In spite of their concerted efforts, we didn’t have anything like enough -help, so I appealed to Leclancher. With discouraging independence, he -indicated that his men were drivers, not furniture movers, and that he -couldn’t order them to help. But he would put it up to them. After a -serious conference with them, Leclancher reported that they had agreed -to join the work party. Now, with a crew of twenty, things moved along -at a faster pace. With a couple of the GIs, the two packers and I set -to work loading the first truck. Here was where the little Rackhamites -shone. In half an hour the first truck was packed and ready to be driven -back to its place beside the chapel wall. The second truck was brought up -and before long joined its groaning companion, snugly parked against a -buttress. - -Presently, the eight GIs trooped out into the courtyard. It was half -past five and time for chow. The Frenchmen knocked off too, leaving -Dr. Mutter, the two packers and me to take stock of the afternoon’s -accomplishment. While we were thus engaged, Leclancher came to tell me -that my driver, the one I called “Double Roger,” was feeling sick and -wanted to see a doctor. In the confusion of the afternoon’s work I hadn’t -noticed that he was not about. We found him curled up in the back of the -truck and feeling thoroughly miserable. I drove him down to the Medical -Office in the village and there Dr. Sverdlik, the Battalion Surgeon, -examined him. Roger’s complaint was a severe pain in the midriff and the -doctor suggested heat treatments. He said that the German surgeon up at -the monastery hospital had the necessary equipment. - -That seemed simple enough, since the drivers were billeted in rooms -adjoining the hospital wing. But I reckoned without Roger. What? Be -treated by a German doctor? He was terrified at the prospect, and it -required all my powers of persuasion to talk him into it. Finally he -agreed, but only after Dr. Sverdlik had telephoned to the hospital doctor -and given explicit instructions. I also had to promise to stand by while -the doctor ministered to him. - -The German, Major Brecker, was methodical and thorough. He found -that Roger had a kidney infection and recommended that he be taken -to a hospital as soon as possible. I explained that we would not be -returning to Munich for at least two days and asked if the delay would -be dangerous. He said that he thought not. In the meantime he would -keep Roger under a “heat basket.” Roger eyed this device with suspicion -but truculently allowed it to be applied. When I went off to my supper, -twenty minutes later, he was sleeping peacefully—but not alone. Three of -his fellow drivers were sprawled on cots near by, just in case that Boche -had any intentions of playing tricks on their comrade. Maybe not, but -they were taking no chances! What a lot of children they were, I thought, -as I walked wearily down to supper. - -That evening I asked the colonel if I could get hold of some PWs to help -out with the work the following day. He said that there was a large camp -between Hohenfurth and Krummau and that I could have as many as I wanted. -So I put in a bid for sixteen. After arranging for them to be at the -monastery at eight the next morning, I went to my own quarters which were -in a house just across the way. - -[Illustration: At the Rest House at Unterstein near Berchtesgaden, Major -Harry Anderson supervises the removal of the Göring Collection, brought -from Karinhall, near Berlin. _International News Photo_] - -[Illustration: One of the forty rooms in the Rest House in which the -Göring pictures, 1,100 in all, were exhibited before their removal to -Munich for subsequent restitution. _International News Photo_] - -[Illustration: The GI Work Party which assisted the Special Evacuation -Team (Lieutenants Howe, Moore and Kovalyak) pack the Göring Collection -for removal from Berchtesgaden to Munich.] - -[Illustration: Truck loaded with sculpture from the Göring Collection at -Berchtesgaden. Statues were packed upright in excelsior for removal to -the Central Collecting Point in Munich.] - -I had one little errand of mercy to take care of before I turned in. -There was a recreation room on the first floor and adjoining it a -makeshift bar. Most of the officers had gone to the movies, so I managed -to slip in unobserved and pilfer two bottles of beer. Tucking them inside -my blouse, I made off for the monastery. There, after some difficulty -in finding my way around the dark passageways, I located the rooms -occupied by my two little packers. They were making ready for bed, but -when they saw what I had for them, their leathery old faces lighted -up with ecstatic smiles. If I had been a messenger from heaven, they -couldn’t have been happier. Leaving them clucking over their unexpected -refreshments, I went back to my own billet and fell into bed. I hadn’t -had exactly what one would call a restful day myself. - -That beer worked wonders I hadn’t anticipated. When I arrived at the -monastery a little before eight the next morning I found that my two -packers, together with Dr. Mutter, had been at work since seven. As -yet there was no sign of the Frenchmen, but I thought that they would -probably show up before long. At eight my gang of PWs appeared and the -sergeant who brought them explained that I wouldn’t be having the crew -of GIs who had helped out the day before. When I protested that I needed -them more urgently than ever, he informed me that the combination of GI -and PW labor simply wouldn’t work out; that I certainly couldn’t expect -to have them both doing the same kind of work together. I said that I -most certainly could and did expect it. Well, my protest was completely -unavailing, and if I had to make a choice I was probably better off with -the sixteen PWs. Perhaps my two packers could get enough work out of -them to compensate for the loss of the GIs. - -I had just finished assigning various jobs to the PWs when Leclancher -turned up. “May I have a word with you?” he asked. “It is about Roger.” - -“What about Roger? Is he any worse?” I asked. - -“No, but he is not any better either,” he said. “Is it possible that we -shall be returning to Munich tomorrow morning?” - -“Not the ghost of a chance,” I said. “We shan’t be through loading before -tomorrow night. We’re too shorthanded.” - -“But if we all pitched in and worked, even after supper?” he asked. - -“It would make a big difference,” I said. “But it’s entirely up to you. -It’s certainly worth a try if the drivers are willing.” - -I’ll never forget that day. I never saw Frenchmen move with such rapidity -or with such singleness of purpose. When five o’clock came, we had -finished loading the fifth truck. Taking into account the two from the -preceding day, that left only three more trucks to fill. Leclancher came -to me again. The drivers wanted to work until it got dark. That meant -until nine o’clock. Knowing that the two packers were equally eager to -get back to Munich, I agreed. I hurried off to call the sergeant about -the PWs. Special arrangements would have to be made to feed them if we -were keeping on the job after supper. Also, I had to make sure that -someone at Battalion Headquarters would be able to provide a vehicle to -take them back to their camp. - -While the drivers went off to chow and the PWs were being fed in the -hospital kitchen, I joined Dr. Mutter and the packers to discuss these -new developments. I felt sure that I would be returning to Hohenfurth in -another few days with additional trucks to complete the evacuation. That -being the case, some preliminary planning was necessary. I instructed -Dr. Mutter to call in a stonemason to remove the Della Robbia relief and -the other pieces which had been set into the walls, so that they would -be ready for packing when we came back. I gave him a written order which -would enable him to lay in a supply of lumber for packing cases which -would have to be built for some of the more fragile pieces. Lastly, the -four of us surveyed the storage rooms and made an estimate of the number -of trucks we would need for the things still on hand. - -To save time I had a couple of chocolate bars for my supper and was ready -to resume work when our combined forces reappeared. The next two hours -and a half went by like a whirlwind and by eight o’clock we knotted down -the tarpaulin on the last truck. Everybody was content. Even the PWs -seemed less glum than usual, but that was probably because they had been -so well fed in the hospital kitchen. - -If we were to make it through to Munich in the one day, we would have -to start off early the next morning. Accordingly I left word that the -trucks were to be lined up outside the monastery entrance at seven-thirty -sharp. Then I went down to the colonel’s quarters to see about an armed -escort for the convoy. I found Colonel Sheehan and Major Thacher making -preparations to “go out on the town.” They looked very spruce in their -pinks and were in high spirits. - -“We missed you at supper,” said the colonel. “How’s the work coming -along?” - -“My trucks are loaded and ready to roll first thing in the morning if I -can have an escort,” I said. - -“That calls for a celebration,” he said. “Pour yourself a drink. I’ll -make a bargain with you. You can have the escort on one condition—that -you join our party tonight.” - -I didn’t protest. I thought it was a swell idea. A few minutes later, the -captain with whom I was billeted arrived and the four of us set out for -an evening of fun. - -In the short space of two days I had grown very fond of these -three officers, although we had met only at mealtime. They were, -in fact, characteristic of all the officers I had encountered at -Hohenfurth—friendly, good-natured and ready to do anything they could -to help. That they were all going home soon may have had something -to do with their contented outlook on life, and they deserved their -contentment. As members of the 26th Division, the famous “Yankee -Division,” they had seen plenty of action, and as we drove along that -night in the colonel’s car, my three companions did a lot of reminiscing. - -While they exchanged stories, I had a chance to enjoy the romantic -countryside through which we were passing. We were, the colonel had said, -headed for Krummau, an old town about fifteen miles away. - -The road followed along the winding Moldau River, which had an almost -supernatural beauty in the glow of the late evening light. The bright -green banks were mirrored, crystal clear, on its unrippled surface, as -were the rose-gold colors of the evening clouds. - -We crossed the river at Rosenberg, and as we went over the bridge I -noticed that it bore—as do all bridges in that region—the figure of St. -John Nepomuk, patron saint of Bohemia. The castle, perched high above the -river, was the ancestral seat of the Dukes of Rosenberg who ruled this -part of Bohemia for hundreds of years. One of them murdered his wife and, -according to the legend, she still haunted the castle. Robed in white, -she was said to walk the battlements each night between eleven-thirty -and twelve. Major Thacher thought that we should test the legend by -paying a visit to the castle on our return from Krummau later that -evening. - -When we arrived in Krummau it was too dark to see much of the old town -except the outline of the gray buildings which lined the narrow streets. -Our objective was a night club operated by members of an underground -movement which was said to have flourished there throughout the years -of Nazi oppression. There was nothing in any way remarkable about -the establishment, but it provided a little variety for the officers -stationed thereabouts. My companions were popular patrons of the place. -They were royally welcomed by the proprietor, who found a good table for -us, not too near the small noisy orchestra. Two pretty Czech girls joined -us and we all took turns dancing. There were so many more men than girls -that we had to be content with one dance each. Then the girls moved on to -another table. - -We whiled away a couple of hours at the club before the colonel said that -we should be starting back. I hoped that we would be in time to pay our -respects to the phantom duchess, but the clock in the square was striking -twelve when we rumbled through the empty streets of Rosenberg. It had -begun to rain again. - -At six the next morning, I looked sleepily out the window. It was still -raining. We would have a slow trip unless the weather cleared, and -I thought apprehensively of the steep road leading into Linz. Fresh -eggs—instead of the usual French toast—and two cups of black coffee -brightened my outlook on the soggy morning and I was further cheered to -find the convoy smartly lined up like a row of circus elephants when I -reached the monastery at seven-thirty. Leclancher had taken the lead -truck and the ailing Roger was bundled up in the cab of one of the -others. - -Dr. Mutter waved agitated farewells from beneath the ribs of a tattered -umbrella as we slid slowly down the monastery drive. At the corner of -the main street of the village we picked up our escort, two armed jeeps. -They conducted us to the border where we gathered in two similar vehicles -which would set the pace for us into Linz. The bad weather was in one -respect an advantage: there was practically no traffic on the road. - -At Linz I stopped long enough to thank Anderson and his colonel for the -escort vehicles they had produced on a moment’s notice that morning -in response to a call from Colonel Sheehan. This third pair of jeeps -were very conscientious about their escort duties. The one in the -vanguard kept well in the lead and would signal us whenever he came to a -depression in the road. This got on Leclancher’s nerves, for I heard him -muttering under his breath every time it happened. But I was so glad to -have an escort of any kind that I pretended not to notice his irritation. - -When we reached Lambach, midway between Linz and Salzburg, we lost this -pair of guardians but acquired two sent on from the latter city. While -waiting for them to appear, I scrounged lunch for myself and the drivers -at a local battery. As soon as the new escorts arrived we started on -again and pulled into Salzburg at two-thirty. This time there were no -delays and we threaded our way through the dripping streets and out on to -the Autobahn without mishap. - -I now had only one remaining worry—the bad detour near Rosenheim. Again, -perhaps thanks to the weather, we were in luck and found this treacherous -by-pass free of traffic. As we rolled into Munich, the rain let up and by -the time we turned into the Königsplatz, the sun had broken through the -clearing skies. - -My first major evacuation job was finished. As soon as I got my drivers -fixed up with transportation back to their camp and the members of our -escort party fed and billeted I could relax with a clear conscience. It -was a little after five-thirty, and Third Army’s inflexible habits about -the hour at which all enlisted men should eat didn’t make this problem -such an easy one. Third Army Headquarters was a good twenty minutes -away, so I took the men to the Military Government Detachment where the -meal schedule was more elastic. Afterward I shepherded them to their -billets and went off to my own. I would have to write up a report of the -expedition for Captain Posey, but that could wait. - - - - -(5) - -_SECOND TRIP TO HOHENFURTH_ - - -The first order of business the next morning was a conference with -Captain Posey. I gave him a complete account of the Hohenfurth trip and -presented my recommendations for a second and final visit to complete -the evacuation. It was my suggestion that I return to the monastery with -the same trucks—as soon as they could be unloaded and serviced—and that -he send up another officer with at least eight additional trucks, the -second convoy to arrive by the time I had completed the loading of my -own. I proposed taking four packers this time instead of two, the idea -being that two of the packers could help me with the loading while the -others were building cases for the fragile objects which would have to -be crated. I mentioned also the impending withdrawal of our troops from -Hohenfurth, which would make later operations of such nature impossible. - -This was of course no news to Captain Posey as, presumably, it had been -the determining factor in the removal of the Hohenfurth things in the -first place. He approved my plan and advised me to get my trucks lined -up, and said he would see what he could do about sending an additional -officer. I didn’t like the sound of that. Too often I had used those -same words myself when confronted with a difficult request. Furthermore, -it had been my experience with the Army in general thus far—and with -Third Army in particular—that “out of sight, out of mind” was a favorite -motto. I had no intention of going back to Hohenfurth until I had a -definite promise that reinforcements would be forthcoming. I think -that my insistence piqued the captain a bit. But at that point I was -feeling exceedingly brisk and businesslike—a mood which I found new and -stimulating. It would be better to have a clear understanding now as to -who would join me in Hohenfurth; as I explained to Captain Posey, I would -like to give the officer some detailed instructions, preferably oral -ones, before I started off. - -I spent the rest of that day and most of the following one at the -Verwaltungsbau supervising the unloading of the ten trucks from -Hohenfurth and making trips out to the trucking company headquarters to -conclude arrangements for continued use of the vehicles. Also, I had to -put in a request for eight others. It was gratifying to find that every -piece we had packed at Hohenfurth came through without a scratch. My two -packers, to whom all credit for this belonged, were equally elated. My -request for the services of four packers was met with black looks, but -when I promised that we’d not be gone more than four or five days, Craig -acquiesced. - -Late in the afternoon of the second day, I went again to Posey’s office. -He was not there but I found Lincoln, as usual hunched morosely over his -typewriter. He said he had good news for me. Captain Posey had pulled a -fast one and snatched a wonderful guy away from Jim Rorimer, Monuments -Officer at Seventh Army—a fellow named Lamont Moore. Moore was already, -he thought, on his way down to Munich to make the trip to Hohenfurth. -When I said I didn’t know Moore, Lincoln proceeded to tell me about him. - -“Lamont was director of the educational program at the National Gallery -in Washington before he went into the Army. Before that he had a -brilliant record at the Newark Museum. The two of you ought to get along -famously. Lamont’s got a wonderful sense of humor. He’s exceedingly -intelligent and he’s had a lot of experience in evacuation work.” - -“Where did you know him?” I asked. - -“We were in France last winter. That was before he was commissioned. He’s -a lieutenant now,” Lincoln said. - -“That sounds perfect. But I want to ask you a question about something -else and I want a truthful answer. I have a sneaking notion that you knew -all the time what was in that monastery at Hohenfurth. How about it?” - -“Furniture and sculpture, you mean, instead of paintings?” he asked. “Of -course I didn’t.” - -“Well, maybe you didn’t, but perhaps you can imagine how I felt when -I found that the Mannheimer collection alone contained more than two -thousand items, and that the Rothschild pieces totaled up to a similar -figure.” - -Lincoln’s chuckle belied his protestations. “I’ve got another piece -of news for you,” he said. “John Nicholas Brown and Mason Hammond are -arriving tomorrow. I thought you might like to see them before you return -to Hohenfurth.” - -“You told me once that Captain Posey, like many another officer, doesn’t -relish visitors from higher headquarters,” I said. “Am I to infer a -connection between his absence from the office and the impending arrival -of these two distinguished emissaries from the Group Control Council?” - -He assured me that I was not, but I left the office wondering about it -all the same. - -That evening George Stout paid one of his rare and fleeting visits to -Munich. On these occasions he stayed either with Craig or Ham Coulter. -This time the four of us—all “strays” from the Navy—gathered in Ham’s -quarters. - -“The work at the mine,” George said, “is going along as rapidly as can be -expected in the circumstances. But it’s got to be stepped up. I came down -to find out how soon you could join me.” - -“I’m going back to Hohenfurth again,” I said. “Lamont Moore is to meet me -there.” - -George was glad to hear this and said that he and Lamont had worked -together at the Siegen mine in Westphalia. He confirmed all of the good -things Lincoln had told me about Lamont and said that he’d like to have -both of us at Alt Aussee. He promised to have a talk with Posey about -it, because he was of the opinion that these big evacuation jobs should -be handled by a team rather than by a single officer. According to -George, a team of at least three—and preferably four—officers would be -the perfect setup. Then the work could be divided up. Each officer would -have specific duties, assigned to him on the basis of his particular -talents. But all members of the team would have responsibilities of equal -importance. It would be teamwork in the real sense of the term. - -Like all of George’s proposals, this one sounded very sensible. At the -same time, when I recalled the haphazard way I had been obliged to -conduct operations thus far myself, I wondered if it weren’t Utopian. -That didn’t discourage George. When he had a good idea he never let go -of it. And, if we had only been a larger group, I am convinced that his -brain child about teams would have had wonderful results. As it was, the -events of the next few weeks were to demonstrate how effective the scheme -was on a small scale. - -When I got out to Third Army Headquarters the next morning, George had -already come and gone. I would have liked to ask Posey about their -conversation but he didn’t seem to be in a chatty mood—at least not on -that subject. However, he did have a few caustic things to say about -“people from high headquarters who have nothing better to do than travel -around and interrupt the work of others.” - -Knowing that he was referring to Messrs. Brown and Hammond—Lincoln’s -assurance of the night before to the contrary notwithstanding—I piously -observed that high-level visitors to the field might do quite a lot of -good. For one thing, the fact that they had taken the trouble to visit it -emphasized the importance of the work they had come to inspect; and, for -another, it pleased the officer in the field to have his job noticed by -the boys at the top. I thought I sounded pretty convincing, but sensing -that I was not, I turned to other topics. - -About that time John and Mason arrived. Our last meeting had taken place -in the vaults of the Reichsbank at Frankfurt several weeks before. Mason -referred to that and jokingly accused me of having run out on him. When -I told him that I was about to return to Hohenfurth he announced loudly -that that was perfect—he and John would drop in to see me there. I said -that would be fine but, when I noted the expression on Captain Posey’s -face, I added to myself, “fine, if they get the clearance.” Before coming -up to see me, they expected to visit one or two places south of Munich, -so they wouldn’t reach Hohenfurth before the end of the week. - -Captain Posey was a great believer in the old theory that the Devil -finds work for idle hands, at least as far as I was concerned. That same -afternoon he casually suggested that I take a “little run down into the -Tyrol” for him and inspect a castle about which he had been asked to -make a report. He proposed the trip with such prewar insouciance that it -sounded like a pleasant holiday excursion. As a matter of fact it was -an appealing suggestion, despite my plans for an early morning start to -Hohenfurth. - -It was a beautiful summer day and my jeep driver asked if a friend of -his, a sergeant who was keen about photography, might come along. I -agreed and the three of us headed out east of Munich on the Autobahn. It -was fun to be riding in an open jeep instead of an enclosed truck. - -We reached Rosenheim in record time and there struck south into the -mountains. Our objective was the little village of Brixlegg, between -Kufstein and Innsbruck. We were on the main road to the Brenner Pass. -Italy was temptingly close. We stopped from time to time so that the -sergeant could get a snapshot of some particularly dramatic vista. -But there was an embarrassment of riches—every part of the road was -spectacularly beautiful. - -Brixlegg was a tiny cluster of picturesque chalets, but it had not been -tiny enough to elude the attentions of the air force. On the outskirts -we saw the shattered remains of what had been an important factory for -the manufacture of airplane parts. Happily, the bombers had concentrated -their efforts on the factory. The little village had suffered practically -no damage at all. - -We located our castle without difficulty. It was Schloss Matzen, one -of the finest castles of the Tyrol—the property of a British officer, -Vice-Admiral Baillie-Grohman. This gentleman had requested a report on -the castle from the American authorities. We found everything in perfect -order. The admiral’s cousin—a Hungarian baron named Von Schmedes who -spoke excellent English—was in residence. He showed us over the place. -The castle was an example of intelligent restoration. According to the -inscription on a plaque over the entrance, the aunt of the present owner -had devoted her life to this task. - -Although an “Off Limits” sign was prominently displayed on the premises, -the baron was fearful of intruders. As the castle stood some distance -from the main highway, I thought he was being unduly apprehensive. He -said that an official letter of warning to unwelcome visitors would be -an added protection. To please him I wrote out a statement to the effect -that the castle was an historic monument, the property of a British -subject, etc., and signed it in the name of the Commanding General of the -Third U. S. Army. - -On our way out we were shown two rooms on the ground floor which were -filled with polychromed wood sculpture from the museum at Innsbruck. The -baron said that additional objects from the Innsbruck museum were stored -in a near-by castle, Schloss Lichtwert. - -It was but a few minutes’ drive from Schloss Matzen, so I decided to have -a look at it. Schloss Lichtwert, though not nearly so picturesque either -in character or as to site, was the more interesting of the two. It stood -baldly in the middle of a field and was actually a big country house -rather than a castle. - -We were hospitably received by a courtly old gentleman, Baron von Iname, -to whom I explained the reason for our visit. One of his daughters -offered to do the honors, saying that her father was extremely deaf. -We followed her to a handsome drawing room on the second floor, where -several other members of the family were gathered in conversation around -a large table set with coffee things. In one of the wall panels was a -concealed door, which the daughter of the house opened by pressing a -hidden spring. Leading the way, she took us into a room about twenty feet -square filled with violins, violas and ’cellos. They hung in rows from -the ceiling, like hams in a smokehouse. Fräulein von Iname said that the -collection of musical instruments at Innsbruck was a very fine one. We -were standing in a Stradivarius forest. - -When we passed back into the drawing room, the father whispered a few -words to his daughter. She turned to us smiling and said, “Father asked -if I had pointed out to you the thickness of the walls in this part -of the castle. He is very proud of the fact that they date from the -fourteenth century and that our family has always lived here. He also -asks me to invite you to take coffee with us.” - -Knowing that coffee was valued as molten gold, I declined the invitation -on the grounds that we had a long trip ahead of us. Thanking her for her -courtesy, we left. It was after eleven when we got back to Munich. We had -driven a little more than three hundred miles. - -Bad weather and bad luck attended us all the way to Hohenfurth the next -day. Less than an hour out on the Autobahn, we came upon a gruesome -accident—an overturned jeep and the limp figures of two GIs at one side -of the road, the mangled body of a German soldier in the center of the -pavement. An ambulance had already arrived and a doctor was ministering -to the injured American soldiers. The German was obviously beyond medical -help. As soon as the road was cleared, we continued—but at a very sober -pace. - -On the other side of Salzburg we had carburetor trouble which held us up -for nearly two hours. It was after five thirty when we reached Linz. We -stopped there for supper and I had a few words with the colonel who had -looked after us so well a few days before. He seemed surprised to see me -again, and rather agitated. - -“You can get through this time,” he said, “but don’t try to come back -this way.” - -“What do you mean, sir?” I asked, puzzled by his curt admonition. - -Apparently annoyed by my query, he said brusquely, “Don’t ask any -questions. Just do as I say—don’t come back this way.” - -At supper I saw Lieutenant Anderson again and I broached the subject to -him. “Does the colonel mean that the Russians are expected to move up to -the other side of the Danube?” I asked. - -“Take a good look at the bridge when you cross over tonight,” he said. - -It was my turn to be nettled now. “Look here, I don’t mean to be -intruding on any precious military secret, but I am expecting a second -convoy to join me at Hohenfurth in two days; if the other trucks aren’t -going to be able to get through I ought to let the people at Third Army -Headquarters know.” - -“Well, frankly I don’t know just what the score is, but the colonel -probably has definite information,” he said. “What I meant about the -bridge is that it’s jammed with people and carts, all coming over to the -west side of the Danube. It’s been like that for the past two days and it -can mean only one thing—that the Russians aren’t far behind.” - -This wasn’t too reassuring, but I decided to take a fatalistic attitude -toward it. If I had to find some other route back from Hohenfurth, I’d -worry about it when the time came. I did, however, try to get through to -Third Army Headquarters on the phone. Posey’s office didn’t answer, so I -asked Anderson to put in a call for me in the morning. - -It was slow going over the bridge, but we finally forced our way through -the welter of carts and wagons. Once we were in open country, the traffic -thinned out and we moved along at a faster pace. The Czech and American -officers at the frontier recognized us and waved us through without -formality. We arrived in Hohenfurth a little before nine. I knew the -ropes this time, so it was a simple matter to get the men billeted in the -monastery. After that I went on to my own former billet. When I reached -the house, I found a group of officers in the recreation room. They were -holding an informal meeting. Colonel Sheehan was presiding and motioned -to me to join the group. He had just returned from the headquarters at -Budweis with important news. His own orders had come through, so he would -be pulling out for home in a few days. But of greater concern to me was -the news that the Czechs would definitely take over at the end of the -week. We would still have some troops in the area, but their duties would -be greatly curtailed. I would have to finish the job at the monastery as -fast as possible and head back to Munich. - -We resumed our work at the monastery with surprisingly few delays. It was -almost as if there had been no interruption of our earlier operations. -This time I had double the number of PWs, so I did not have to call on -the drivers to help with the loading. During my absence, Dr. Mutter had -put a stonemason to work on the pieces which had been set into the wall, -and these now lay like parts of a puzzle in a neat pattern on the floor -of the reception hall, ready to be packed. He had also procured lumber -and nails, so my two extra packers were able to get to work on the cases -which had to be built. By evening, seven of the trucks were loaded, -leaving only one more to do the next day. - -That night I consulted one of the officers, who had a wide knowledge -of the roads in that area, about an alternate route to Munich. He -showed me, on the map, a winding back road which would take me through -Passau—instead of Linz and Salzburg—to Munich. It was, he said, a very -“scenic route” but longer than the way I had come. He felt sure, though, -that I could get my trucks through, that there were no bad detours, etc. -It was comforting to know that this route existed as a possibility—just -in case. But I still had hopes of being able to go back by way of Linz, -in spite of the colonel’s warning. - -The next day was the Fourth of July—not that I expected either my French -or German associates to take special notice of the fact. Still I was glad -that I had only one truck to load on the holiday. I took advantage of -the later breakfast hour, knowing that my faithful German packers would -be on the job at seven o’clock as usual. When I arrived at the monastery -at nine-thirty, I found that the last truck was already half loaded. -There was enough room to add the two cases containing the Della Robbia -plaque and the Renaissance fireplace taken out of the wall; and, if we -were careful, we might find a place for the fifteenth century Florentine -relief which the stonemason had also painstakingly removed. Once that -was done, there was nothing to do but wait for the arrival of Lieutenant -Moore and the additional trucks. - -I called the workmen together. In halting German, I explained the -significance of the Fourth of July and announced that there would be no -more work that day. It was providentially near the lunch hour. I could -send the PWs back to their camp as soon as they had eaten. The German -packers, intent on returning to Munich as soon as possible, chose to get -on with the cases they were building. Dr. Mutter and I retired to his -study to take stock of the receipts we had thus far made out. As for the -French drivers, they had disappeared to their quarters. - -After lunching at the officers’ mess, I decided to celebrate the Glorious -Fourth in my own quiet way. Major Whittemore had lent me a car, so I set -out on an expedition of my own devising. Ever since the night of our trip -to Krummau, I had wanted to explore the castle of Rosenberg, and this -seemed the logical time to do it. Rosenberg was only eight kilometers -away. - -It was a sleepy summer afternoon. Not a leaf was stirring as I followed -the winding Moldau into the pretty village with its storybook castle. The -road to the castle was rough and tortuous, reminding me of a back road -in the Tennessee mountain country. Just as I was beginning to wonder if -the little sedan were equal to the climb, the road turned sharply into a -level areaway before the castle courtyard. - -I parked the car and went in search of the caretaker. When I found no -one, I ascended a flight of stone steps which led from the courtyard to -the second floor. The room at the head of the stairs was empty, but I -heard voices in the one adjoining. Two cleaning women were scrubbing the -floor, chattering to each other as they worked. They were startled to see -me, but one of them had the presence of mind to scurry off and return a -few minutes later with the archetype of all castle caretakers. He had -been custodian for the past fifty-six years. Lately there hadn’t been -many visitors. - -He took me first to the picture gallery—a long high-ceilinged room with -tall windows looking out over the river. There were a dozen full-length -canvases around the rough plaster walls, past Dukes of Rosenberg and -their sour-faced Duchesses. The _clou_ of the collection was a tubercular -lady in seventeenth century costume. The caretaker solemnly informed -me that she was the ill-fated duchess who paced the ramparts of the -castle every night just before twelve. She had lived, he told me, in -the fourteenth century. When I mentioned as tactfully as possible that -her gown indicated she had been a mere three hundred years ahead of the -styles, he gave me a dirty look as much as to say, “a disbeliever.” I -did my best to erase this unfortunate impression and proceeded to the -next series of apartments. They included a weapon room, a sumptuous -state bedchamber reserved for royal visitors, several richly furnished -reception rooms, and a long gallery called the Crusaders’ Hall—a -copy, the caretaker said, of a room in the Palace at Versailles. Here -hung full-length portraits of such historic personages as Godefroy -de Bouillon, Robert Guiscard and Frederick Barbarossa—all done by an -indifferent German painter of the last century. Notwithstanding its -ostentatious atmosphere, the gallery had a dignity quite in keeping with -the musty elegance of the castle. - -I thanked the old man, gave him a couple of cigarettes and returned to -the car. It was time for me to be getting back to the monastery. - -I gauged my arrival nicely. As I pulled up to the entrance, the guard at -the archway came over to the car to tell me that eight trucks had just -driven through. When I reached the courtyard the last of them was backing -up against the chapel wall. - -A tall, rangy lieutenant, wearing the familiar helmet liner prescribed -by Third Army regulations, walked up to the car as I was getting out and -said, “Good afternoon, sir. Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” - -So this was Lamont Moore. Just as Lincoln had predicted, I liked him -at once. There was a quiet self-possession about him, coupled with a -quizzical, humorous expression, which was pleasantly reassuring. I have -never forgotten the impression of Olympian calm I received at that first -meeting. In succeeding months, there were many times when Lamont got -thoroughly riled, but his composure never deserted him. His even temper -and his sense of humor could always be depended upon to leaven the more -impetuous actions of his companions. - -Without wasting breath on inconsequential conversation, he suggested that -we “case the joint.” After introducing him to Dr. Mutter, who was still -hovering around like a distracted schoolmaster, we made a tour of the -premises. By the time we had finished I had the comforting, if somewhat -unflattering, feeling that he had a clearer understanding of the work -there than I, notwithstanding the time I had spent at the monastery. - -On our way down to the village afterward, I asked Lamont if he had had -any difficulty coming up through Linz. He said no, but that he also had -been warned not to return that way. - -As soon as he had found a billet, we settled down to talk over the -loading of his trucks. “The colonel says that we’ll have to finish the -job in a hurry. The Czechs are taking over at the end of the week,” I -said. “And if the Russians move up to the Danube, we won’t be able to go -back by way of Linz. We’ll have to return by way of Passau.” - -“I understand that there isn’t any bridge over the Danube at Passau,” -Lamont said quietly. At that I got excited, but in the same quiet voice -Lamont said, “Don’t worry. We’ve got more important things to think -about—something to drink, for example.” - -We went over to the officers’ club, arriving just in time to be offered -a sample of the Fourth of July punch which two of the officers had -been mixing that afternoon. From the look of things, they had perfect -confidence in their recipe, which called for red wine, armagnac and -champagne. After the first sip I didn’t have to be told there would be -fireworks in Hohenfurth that evening. - -Lamont and I began to discuss mutual friends and acquaintances in the -museum world, a habit deeply ingrained in members of our profession. We -agreed that a mutual “hate” often brought people together more quickly -than a mutual admiration. Then inconsistently—it was probably the -punch—we started talking about Lincoln, whom we both liked very much. - -“It was Lincoln who told me what a fine fellow you are, Lamont,” I said. - -“That’s interesting,” he said with a noiseless laugh. “He said the same -thing about you.” - -Comparing notes, we found that Lincoln had given us identical vignettes -of each other. - -“Tell me something about the work you’ve been doing in MFA&A. This is my -first real job, so I’m still a neophyte,” I said. - -Lamont rolled his eyes wearily and said, “Oh, I’ve been evacuating works -of art for the past four months, and I wonder sometimes if it’s ever -going to end. Siegen was my big show. It was the foul and dripping copper -mine in Westphalia where the priceless treasures from the Rhineland -museums were stored. The shaft was two thousand feet deep and some of the -mine chambers were more than half a mile from the shaft. Walker Hancock -of First Army and George Stout had inspected it originally and advised -immediate evacuation. But no place was available. First Army was pushing -eastward, so all Walker could do was to reassure himself from time to -time that the contents were adequately guarded. - -“Shortly before VE-Day, I received a cryptic telegram at Ninth Army -Headquarters stating that, as of midnight that particular night, Siegen -was my headache. Then followed weeks of activity in which Walker, Steve -and I were involved.” - -“Who is Steve?” I asked. - -“Steve Kovalyak of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania,” said Lamont. “I think -he’s with George at Alt Aussee now. I hope you’ll meet him. He’s a great -character. - -“A bunker at Bonn was approved as a new repository for the Siegen -treasures. I surveyed the roads to Bonn and found them impossible for -truck transport. George was called to Alt Aussee. Walker went off to see -about setting up a collecting point at Marburg. - -“Then I was called back to Ninth Army Headquarters. The evacuation of -Siegen was momentarily at a standstill. - -“Later I returned and, with Walker’s and Steve’s assistance, completed -the evacuation. We moved everything to Marburg, except the famous -Romanesque doors from the church of Santa Maria im Kapitol. Walker took -them to the cathedral at Cologne, along with the Aachen crown jewels. - -“Siegen was the second major evacuation—perhaps you could say it was the -first carried out by a _team_ of MFA&A officers.” - -“What was the first?” I asked. - -“The Merkers mine, where the Nazi gold and the Berlin Museum things were -stored. That was the most spectacular of the early evacuations—that and -Bernterode.” - -“What about Bernterode?” I asked. I had read Hancock’s official report -of the operation and had seen some snapshots taken in the mine, so I was -curious to have a firsthand account. - -“Walter Hancock was the officer in charge of the evacuation,” said -Lamont. “Like Siegen, it was a deep-shaft mine, so the contents had to -be brought up by an elevator. It was a hell of a job to get the elevator -back in working order. The dramatic thing about Bernterode was the -discovery of a small chapel, or shrine, constructed in one of the mine -chambers and then completely walled up. - -“In this concealed shrine, the Nazis had placed the bronze sarcophagi of -Frederick the Great, Frederick William—the Soldier King—and those of Von -Hindenburg and his wife. On the coffins had been laid wreaths, ribbons -and various insignia of the Party. Around and about them were some two -hundred regimental banners, many of them dating from the early Prussian -wars. - -“When Walker was ready to take the coffins out of the mine, he found -they were so large and heavy that they’d have to come up one at a time. -He was standing at the top of the shaft as the coffin of Frederick the -Great rose slowly from the depths. As it neared the level, a radio in the -distance blared forth the ‘Star-Spangled Banner.’ And just as the coffin -came into view, the radio band struck up ‘God Save the King.’ The date,” -Lamont added significantly, “was May the eighth.” - -If I thought I was going to get much sleep that night, I reckoned without -the patriotic officers of the Yankee Division, who were hell-bent on -making it a really Glorious Fourth. It had been my mistake in the first -place to move into quarters directly over the recreation room. It wasn’t -much of a bedroom anyway—just an alcove with an eighteenth century settee -for a bed. I was resting precariously on this spindly collector’s item -when the door was flung open and Major Thacher shouted that I was wanted -below. I told him to go away. To my surprise he did—but only to return a -few minutes later with reinforcements. I must come down at once—colonel’s -orders, and if I wouldn’t come quietly, they’d carry me down. Before I -could get off my settee, it was pitched forward and I sprawled on the -floor. What fun it was for everybody—except me! I put on a dressing -gown and was marched down the stairs. I had been called in, as a naval -officer, to settle an argument: Who had won the Battle of Jutland? The -Battle of Jutland, of all things! At that moment I wasn’t at all sure in -what war it had been fought, let alone who had won it. But assuming an -assurance I was far from feeling I declared that it had been a draw. My -luck was with me that night after all, for that had been the colonel’s -contention. So I was allowed to return to my makeshift bed. - -Lamont took some of the wind out of my sails by assuring me the next -morning that the British had defeated the German fleet at Jutland in 1916. - -But we were having our own battle of Hohenfurth that morning, so I was -too preoccupied to give Jutland more than a passing thought. Just before -noon, as we finished our fourth truck, John Nicholas Brown and Mason -Hammond arrived. Mason, as was his custom when traveling about Germany, -was bundled up in a great sheepskin coat—the kind used by the Wehrmacht -on the Russian front—and looked like something out of _Nanook of the -North_. John, less arctically attired, hailed us gaily from the back seat -of the command car. - -Lamont and I suspended operations to show them around. We were pleased -by their comments on our work—how admirably it was being handled and so -on—but we struck a snag when we showed them Canova’s marble Muse. Lamont -and I had just about decided to leave her where she was. Our two visitors -thought that would be a pity, a downright shame. We pointed out that to -transport the statue would be a hazardous business, even if we succeeded -in getting it onto a truck in the first place. We had no equipment with -which to hoist anything so heavy. On our inspection tour they kept coming -back to the subject of the Canova, and Lamont gave me an irritated look -for having called their attention to it at all. - -At lunch, which we had with the colonel, they fixed us. When the subject -of the statue was brought up, the colonel instantly agreed to provide us -with a winch and also two extra trucks. We needed the trucks all right, -but we weren’t particularly happy about the winch. - -As soon as we got back to the monastery, we broke the news to Dr. Mutter. -The Muse was about to take a trip. He held up his hands in dismay and -said it would take us half a day to get the statue loaded. When we told -the German packers what we had in mind, they made a few clucking noises, -and then began the necessary preparations. The first thing they did was -to get hold of two logs, each about six feet in length and five inches in -diameter. With the help of a dozen PWs, they got them placed beneath the -base of the statue. From that point on, it was a matter of slowly rolling -the statue as the logs rolled. It was arduous work. A distance of well -over four hundred yards was involved, and the last half of it was along a -sloping ramp where it was particularly difficult to keep the heavy marble -under control. - -Once the truck was reached, it was necessary to set up a stout runway -from the ground to the bed of the truck. This done, the next move was to -place heavy pads around the base of the statue, so that the cable of the -winch would not scratch the surface of the marble. It was a tense moment. -Would the winch be strong enough to drag its heavy burden up the runway? -It began to grind, and slowly the Muse slid up the boards, paused for -a quivering instant and then glided majestically along the bed of the -truck. There were cheers from the PWs who had gathered around the truck -to watch. We all sighed with relief, and then congratulated the little -packers who had engineered the whole operation. Dr. Mutter kept shaking -his head in disbelief. He told us that when the statue had been brought -to the monastery in the first place, it had taken three hours to unload -it. The present operation had taken forty-five minutes. - -After this triumph, the loading of the remaining trucks seemed an -anticlimax, but we kept hard at it for the next six hours. By seven -o’clock, all ten of them were finished. All told, we would be a convoy of -eighteen trucks. - -We were on the point of starting down to the village for supper, when -Dr. Mutter, even more agitated than he had been before, rushed up and -implored us to grant him a great favor. Would we, out of the kindness -of our hearts—oh, he knew he had no right to ask such a favor—would we -take him and his wife and little girl along with us to Linz the next -day? Linz was his home, he had a house there. He had brought his family -to Hohenfurth only because the Nazis wouldn’t allow him to give up his -duties as custodian of the collections at the monastery. Now the Czechs -were going to be in complete control. He and his family were Austrians -and there was no telling what would happen to them. - -How news does get around, I thought to myself. We hadn’t said a word -about the Czechs taking over, but when I expressed the proper surprise -and asked him where he had heard _that_ rumor, he wagged his head as much -as to say, “Oh, I know what I am talking about, all right!” - -My heart wasn’t exactly bleeding for Dr. Mutter, but at the thought of -his little girl, who was about the age of my own, I couldn’t say no. I -told him to be ready to leave at seven the next morning. I didn’t tell -him how uncertain it was that we would ever get to Linz at all. - -It was pouring when I crawled out of my bed at six A.M. I seemed to -specialize in bad weather, particularly when starting out with a convoy! -At the monastery everything was in order. At the last minute I decided to -tell Dr. Mutter there was a possibility—even a probability—that we would -not be able to cross over at Linz, and I told him why. He was terrified -when I mentioned the prospect of being stopped by the Russians. I assured -him that we would drop him and his family off at one of the villages on -the other side of the Austrian border, if we found there was going to be -trouble. It was cold comfort but the best I had to offer. - -I climbed into the lead truck, Lamont into the tenth, and Leclancher, as -usual, took over the last truck. Leclancher, with his customary ability -to pull a rabbit out of a hat at a critical juncture, had found among his -drivers one who spoke some Russian, so we had put him at the controls of -the first truck. It might make a good impression. - -Once again we had a jeep escort to the border, and there we picked up -three others to conduct us as far as Linz. The cocky little sergeant in -the jeep that was to lead came over to my truck, squinted up at me and -said, “You look nervous this morning, Lieutenant.” - -Well, I thought, if it’s that apparent, what’s the use of denying it? -“I am,” I said. “This is a big convoy and it’s filled with millions of -dollars’ worth of stuff. I’d hate to have anything happen to it.” - -He whistled at that. Then, rubbing his hands briskly, he retorted, “And -nothing is going to happen to it.” - -He took off and we swung in behind him. The first hour was a long one. -There was more traffic than ever before—a steady stream of carts all -moving toward Linz. At last we shifted into low gear, and I knew that we -were on the steep grade leading down to Urfahr. If there were going to be -trouble, we’d know it in a minute. At that moment, the sergeant in the -lead jeep turned around and waved. I thought, There’s trouble ahead. But -he was only signaling that the road was clear. - -We rolled over the rough cobblestones onto the bridge. I saw the gleaming -helmet liners of the new escort awaiting us as we drew up to the center -of the span. I motioned to one of our new guardians that we would stop at -the first convenient place on the other side. - -We were such a long convoy that I thought we’d be halfway through Linz -before our escort directed us to pull over to the curb. There we unloaded -the Mutter family and their luggage. The doctor and his wife were -tearfully grateful and the little girl smiled her thanks. - -I was feeling relaxed and happy and wanted to share my relief with -someone, so I suggested to Lamont that we pay our respects to the colonel -who had warned us not to come through Linz. It was a letdown to find only -a warrant officer in the colonel’s anteroom. But he remembered us and was -surprised to see us again. He said we had been lucky; the latest news -was that the Russians would move up to the opposite side of the Danube -by noon. We left appropriate messages for the colonel and his adjutant, -returned to our trucks and headed west toward Lambach. - -As on the previous trip, the escort turned back at that point. A new -one—this time an impressive array of six armed jeeps—shepherded us from -there. We stopped for lunch with a Corps of Engineers outfit of the 11th -Armored Division on the outskirts of Schwannenstadt. The C.O., Major -Allen, and his executive officer, Captain Myers, welcomed us as warmly as -if we had been commanding generals instead of a motley crew of eighteen -French drivers, plus twelve “noncoms” from the escorting jeeps—a total of -thirty-two, including Lamont and me. We doled out K rations to our four -packers, for we couldn’t take civilians into an Army mess. - -After lunch I telephoned ahead to Salzburg to ask for an escort from -there to Munich, requesting that it meet us on the edge of town, east -of the river. The weather had cleared, and drying patches of water on -the road reflected a blue sky. By the time we had sighted Salzburg it -was actually hot. As we rolled into the outskirts we were enveloped in -clouds of dust from the steady procession of military vehicles. We waited -in vain for our new escort. After an hour we decided to proceed without -one. I didn’t like the idea very much, but it was getting on toward five -o’clock, and we wanted to reach Munich in time for supper. We fell far -short of our goal, being forced to stop once because of a flat tire, and -a second time because of carburetor trouble. These two delays cost us -close to two hours. At seven o’clock we halted by the placid waters of -Chiemsee and ate cold C rations in an idyllic setting. It was after nine -when we lumbered into the parking area behind the Gargantuan depot at -the Königsplatz. Lamont and I had twin objectives—hot baths and bed. It -didn’t take us long to achieve both! - -We had had every intention of making an early start the next morning, -not so much because of any blind faith in Benjamin Franklin’s precepts, -but simply because they stopped serving breakfast in the Third Army -mess shortly before eight o’clock. In fact, the first thing one saw on -entering the mess hall was a large placard which stated peremptorily, -“The mess will be cleared by 0800. By order of the Commanding General.” -And such was Third Army discipline—we had a different name for it—that -the mess hall was completely devoid of life on the stroke of eight. - -It was a little after seven when I woke up. Lamont was still dead to the -world, so I shaved and dressed before waking him. There was a malevolent -gleam in his eyes when he finally opened them. He asked frigidly, “Are -you always so infernally cheerful at this hour of the morning?” I told -him not to confuse cheerfulness with common courtesy, and mentioned the -peculiar breakfast habits of the Third Army. - -We arrived at the mess hall with a few minutes to spare. The sergeant at -the entrance asked to see our mess cards. We had none but I explained -that we were attached to the headquarters. - -“Temporary duty?” he asked. - -“Yes, just temporary duty,” I said with a hint of thankfulness. - -“Then you can’t eat here. Take the bus to the Transient Officers’ Mess -downtown.” - -I asked about the bus schedule. “Last bus left at 0745,” he said. It was -then 0750. - -“Well, how do you like ‘chicken’ for breakfast?” I asked Lamont as we -walked out to the empty street. - -There was nothing to do but walk along until we could hail a passing -vehicle. We had gone a good half mile before we got a lift. Knowing that -the downtown mess closed at eight, I thought we’d better try the mess -hall at the Military Government Detachment where the officers usually -lingered till about eight-thirty. Among the laggards we found Ham -Coulter and Craig. After airing our views on the subject of Third Army -hospitality, we settled down to a good breakfast and a full account of -our trip back from Hohenfurth. We told Craig that a couple of our French -drivers were to meet us at the Collecting Point at nine. They were to -bring some of the trucks around for unloading before noon. It was a -Saturday and in Bavaria everything stopped at noon. Once in a great while -Craig could persuade members of his civilian crew to work on Saturday -afternoons, but it was a custom they didn’t hold with, so he avoided -it whenever possible. There were those who frowned on this kind of -“coddling,” as they called it, but they just didn’t know their Bavarians. -Craig did, and I think he got more work out of his people than if he had -tried to change their habits. - -We spent part of the morning with Herr Döbler, the chief packer, at -the Collecting Point, helping him decipher our trucking lists, hastily -prepared at Hohenfurth in longhand. Meanwhile the trucks, one after -another, drew up to the unloading platform and disgorged their precious -contents. The descent of the marble Muse caused a flurry of excitement. -Our description of loading the statue had lost nothing in the telling -and we were anxious to see how she had stood the trip. The roads had -been excruciatingly rough in places, especially at Linz and on the dread -detour near Rosenheim. At each chuckhole I had offered up a little -prayer. But my worries had been groundless—she emerged from the truck in -all her gleaming, snow-white perfection. - -Just before noon, Captain Posey summoned Lamont and me to his office. He -cut short our account of the Hohenfurth operation with the news that we -were to leave that afternoon for the great mine at Alt Aussee. At last we -were to join George—both of us. George was going to have his team after -all. - -A command car had already been ordered. The driver was to pick us up at -one-thirty. Posey got out a map and showed us the road we were to take -beyond Salzburg. As his finger ran along the red line of the route marked -with the names St. Gilgen, St. Wolfgang, Bad Ischl and Bad Aussee, our -excitement grew. Untold treasures were waiting to be unearthed at the end -of it. - -He said that the trip would take about six hours. We could perhaps stop -off at Bad Aussee for supper. Two naval officers—Lieutenants Plaut and -Rousseau, both of them OSS—had set up a special interrogation center -there, an establishment known simply as “House 71,” and were making an -intensive investigation of German art-looting activities. They lived very -well, Posey said with a grin. We could do a lot worse than to sample -their hospitality. I knew Jim Plaut and Ted Rousseau—in fact had seen -them at Versailles not so many weeks ago—so I thought we could prevail on -them to take us in. - -The mention of food reminded Lamont that we ought to pick up a generous -supply of rations—the kind called “ten-in-ones”—somewhere along the -road. The captain gave us a written order for that, and also provided -each of us with a letter stating that we were authorized to “enter -art repositories in the area occupied by the Third U. S. Army.” Our -earlier permits had referred to specific localities. These were blanket -permits—marks of signal favor, we gathered from the ceremonious manner in -which they were presented to us. - -There were various odds and ends to be attended to before we could get -off, among them the business of our PX rations. That was Lamont’s idea. -He said that we might not be able to get them later. He was right; they -were the last ones we were able to lay our hands on for three weeks. - -[Illustration: German altarpiece from the Louvre Museum, by the Master of -the Holy Kinship, was acquired by Göring in exchange for paintings from -his own collection.] - -[Illustration: This panel, _Mary Magdalene_, by van Scorel, was given to -Hitler by Göring. Shortly before the war’s end the Führer returned it to -Göring for safekeeping.] - -[Illustration: Wing of an Italian Renaissance altarpiece by del Garbo, -representing Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Justin.] - -[Illustration: Life-size statue of polychromed wood, _The Magdalene_, by -Erhardt, was formerly owned by the Louvre.] - - - - -(6) - -_LOOT UNDERGROUND: THE SALT MINE AT ALT AUSSEE_ - - -It was nearly two o’clock by the time we were ready to start. I was now -so familiar with the road between Munich and Salzburg that I felt like -a commuter. Just outside Salzburg, Lamont began looking for signs that -would lead us to a Quartermaster depot. He finally caught sight of one -and, after following a devious route which took us several miles off the -main road, we found the depot. We were issued two compact and very heavy -wooden boxes bound with metal strips. We dumped them on the floor of the -command car and drove on into town. - -Across the river, we picked up a secondary road which led out of the -city in a southeasterly direction. For some miles it wound through hills -so densely wooded that we could see but little of the country. Then, -emerging from the tunnel of evergreens, we skirted Fuschl See, the first -of the lovely Alpine lakes in that region. Somewhere along its shores, we -had been told, Ribbentrop had had a castle. It was being used now as a -recreation center for American soldiers. - -Our road led into more rugged country. We continued to climb and with -each curve of the road the scenery became more spectacular. After an -hour’s drive we reached St. Gilgen, its neat white houses and picturesque -church spire silhouetted against the blue waters of St. Wolfgang See. -Then on past the village of Strobl and finally into the crooked streets -of Bad Ischl, where the old Emperor Franz Josef had spent so many -summers. From Bad Ischl our road ribboned through Laufen and Goisern to -St. Agatha. - -Beyond St. Agatha lay the Pötschen Pass. The road leading up to it was a -series of hairpin turns and dangerous grades. As we ground slowly up the -last steep stretch to the summit, I wondered what route George was using -for his convoys from the mine. Surely not this one. Large trucks couldn’t -climb that interminable grade. I found out later that this was the only -road to Alt Aussee. - -On the other side of the pass, the road descended gradually into a -rolling valley and, in another half hour, we clattered into the narrow -main street of Bad Aussee. From there it was only a few miles to Alt -Aussee. Midway between the two villages we hoped to find the house of our -OSS friends. - -We came upon it unexpectedly, around a sharp bend in the road. It was a -tall, gabled villa, built in the gingerbread style of fifty years ago. -Having pictured a romantic chalet tucked away in the mountains, I was -disappointed by this rather commonplace suburban structure, standing -behind a stout iron fence with padlocked gates, within a stone’s throw of -the main highway. - -Jim and Ted received us hospitably and took us to an upper veranda with -wicker chairs and a table immaculately set for dinner. We were joined -by a wiry young lieutenant colonel, named Harold S. Davitt, who bore a -pronounced resemblance to the Duke of Windsor. He was the commanding -officer of a battalion of the 11th Armored Division stationed at Alt -Aussee, the little village just below the mine. Colonel Davitt’s men -constituted the security guard at the mine. He knew and admired our -friend George Stout. It was strange and pleasant to be again in an -atmosphere of well-ordered domesticity. To us it seemed rather a fine -point when one of our hosts rebuked the waitress for serving the wine in -the wrong kind of glasses. - -During dinner we noticed a man pacing about the garden below. He was -Walter Andreas Hofer, who had been Göring’s agent and adviser in art -matters. A shrewd and enterprising Berlin dealer before the war, Hofer -had succeeded in ingratiating himself with the Reichsmarschall. He, -more than any other single individual, had been responsible for shaping -Göring’s taste and had played the stellar role in building up his -priceless collection of Old Masters. - -Some of his methods had been ingenious. He was credited with having -devised the system of “birthday gifts”—a scheme whereby important -objects were added to the collection at no cost to the Reichsmarschall. -Each year, before Göring’s birthday on January twelfth, Hofer wrote -letters to wealthy industrialists and businessmen suggesting that the -Reichsmarschall would be gratified to receive a token of their continued -regard for him. Then he would designate a specific work of art—and the -price. More often than not, the piece in question had already been -acquired. The prospective donor had only to foot the bill. Now and then -the victim of this shakedown protested the price, but he usually came -through. - -In Hofer, the Reichsmarschall had had a henchman as rapacious and greedy -as himself. And Hofer had possessed what his master lacked—a wide -knowledge of European collections and the international art market. -Göring had been a gold mine and Hofer had made the most of it. - -Hofer had been arrested shortly after the close of hostilities. He -had been a “guest” at House 71 for some weeks now, and was being -grilled daily by our “cloak and dagger boys.” They were probing into -his activities of the past few years and had already extracted an -amazing lot of information for incorporation into an exhaustive report -on the Göring collection and “how it grew.” Hofer was just one of a -long procession of witnesses who were being questioned by Plaut and -Rousseau in the course of their tireless investigation of the artistic -depredations of the top Nazis. These OSS officers knew their business. -With infinite patience, they were cross-examining their witnesses -and gradually extracting information which was to lend an authentic -fascination to their reports. - -Hofer’s wife, they told us, had ably assisted her husband. Her talents -as an expert restorer had been useful. She had been charged with the -technical care of the Göring collection—no small job when one stopped -to consider that it numbered over a thousand pictures. Indeed, there -had been more than enough work to keep one person busy all the time. We -learned that Frau Hofer was living temporarily at Berchtesgaden where, -until recently, she had been allowed to attend to emergency repairs on -some of the Göring pictures there. - -We turned back to the subject of Hofer, who had not yet finished his -daily constitutional and could be seen still pacing back and forth below -us. He was, they said, a voluble witness and had an extraordinary memory. -He could recall minute details of complicated transactions which had -taken place several years before. On one occasion Hofer had recommended -an exchange of half a dozen paintings of secondary importance for two -of the very first quality. As I recall, the deal involved a group of -seventeenth century Dutch pictures on the one hand, and two Bouchers on -the others. Hofer had been able to reel off the names of all of them and -even give the price of each. It was just such feats of memory, they said -with a laugh, that made his vague and indefinite answers to certain -other questions seem more than merely inconsistent. - -Listening to our hosts, we had forgotten the time. It was getting late -and George would be wondering what had happened to us. There had been a -heavy downpour while we were at dinner. The weather had cleared now, but -the evergreens were dripping as we pulled out of the drive. - -The road to Alt Aussee ran along beside the swift and milky waters of an -Alpine river. It was a beautiful drive in the soft evening light. The -little village with its winding streets and brightly painted chalets was -an odd setting for GIs and jeeps, to say nothing of our lumbering command -car. - -We found our way to the Command Post, which occupied a small hotel in -the center of the village. There we turned sharply to the right, into a -road so steep that it made the precipitous grades over which we had come -earlier that afternoon seem level by comparison. We drove about a mile on -this road and I was beginning to wonder if we wouldn’t soon be above the -timber line—perhaps even in the region of “eternal snow” to which Roger -had once so poetically referred—when we came to a bleak stone building -perched precariously on a narrow strip of level ground. Behind it, a -thousand feet below, stretched an unbroken sea of deep pine forests. -This was the control post, and the guard, a burly GI armed with a rifle, -signaled us to stop. We asked for Lieutenant Stout. He motioned up the -road, where, in the gathering dusk, we could distinguish the outlines of -a low building facing an irregular terrace. It was a distance of about -two hundred yards. We drove on up to the entrance where we found George -waiting for us. - -He took us into the building which he said contained the administrative -offices of the salt mine—the Steinbergwerke, now a government -monopoly—and his own living quarters. We entered a kind of vestibule -with white plaster walls and a cement floor. A narrow track, the rails -of which were not more than eighteen inches apart, led from the entrance -to a pair of heavy doors in the far wall. “That,” said George, “is the -entrance to the mine.” - -He led the way to a room on the second floor. Its most conspicuous -feature was a large porcelain stove. The woodwork was knotty pine. Aside -from the two single beds, the only furniture was a built-in settle with -a writing table which filled one corner. The table had a red and white -checked cover and over it, suspended from the ceiling, was an adjustable -lamp with a red and white checked shade. Opening off this room was -another bedroom, also pine-paneled, which was occupied by the captain -of the guard and one other officer. George apologized for the fact that -the only entrance to the other room was through ours. Apparently, in the -old days, the two rooms had formed a suite—ours having been the sitting -room—reserved for important visitors to the mine. For the first few days -there was so much coming and going that we had all the privacy of Grand -Central Station, but we soon got used to the traffic. George and Steve -Kovalyak shared a room just down the hall. Lamont had spoken of Steve -when we had been at Hohenfurth, and I was curious to meet this newcomer -to the MFA&A ranks. George said that Steve would be back before long. He -had gone out with Shrady. That was Lieutenant Frederick Shrady, the third -member of the trio of Monuments Officers at the mine. - -While Lamont and I were getting our things unpacked, George sat and -talked with us about the work at the mine and what he expected us to -do. As he talked he soaked his hand in his helmet liner filled with hot -water. He had skinned one of his knuckles and an infection had set in. -The doctors wanted to bring the thing to a head before lancing it the -next day. I had noticed earlier that one of his hands looked red and -swollen. But George hadn’t said anything about it. As he was not one to -relish solicitous inquiries, I refrained from making any comment. - -George outlined the local situation briefly. The principal bottle-neck -in the operation lay in the selection of the stuff which was to be -brought out of the various mine chambers. There were, he said, something -like ten thousand pictures stored in them, to say nothing of sculpture, -furniture, tapestries, rugs and books. At the moment he was concentrating -on the pictures and he wanted to get the best of them out first. The less -important ones—particularly the works of the nineteenth century German -painters whom Hitler admired so much—could wait for later removal. - -He and Steve and Shrady had their hands full above ground. That left -only Sieber, the German restorer, who had been at the mine ever since -it had been converted into an art repository, to choose the paintings -down below. In addition Sieber had to supervise the other subterranean -operations, which included carrying the paintings from the storage -racks, dividing them into groups according to size, and padding the -corners so that the canvases wouldn’t rub together on the way up to the -mine entrance. Where we could be of real help would be down in the mine -chambers, picking out the cream of the pictures and getting them up -topside. (George’s vocabulary was peppered with nautical expressions.) - -In the midst of his deliberate recital, we heard a door slam. The chorus -of “Giannina Mia” sung in a piercingly melodic baritone echoed from the -stairs. “Steve’s home,” said George. - -A second later there was a knock on the door and the owner of the voice -materialized. Steve looked a bit startled when he caught sight of two -strange faces, but he grinned good-naturedly as George introduced us. - -“I thought you were going out on the town with Shrady tonight,” said -George. - -“No,” said Steve, “I left him down in the village and came back to talk -to Kress.” - -Kress was an expert photographer who had been with the Kassel Museum -before the war. He had been captured when our troops took over at the -mine just as the war ended. Since Steve’s arrival, he had been his -personal PW. Steve was an enthusiastic amateur and had acquired all kinds -of photographic equipment. Kress, we gathered, was showing him how to use -it. Their “conversations” were something of a mystery, because Steve knew -no German, Kress no English. - -“I use my High German, laddies,” Steve would say with a crafty grin and a -lift of the eyebrows, as he teetered on the balls of his feet. - -We came to the conclusion that “High German” was so called because it -transcended all known rules of grammar and pronunciation. But, for -the two of them, it worked. Steve—stocky, gruff and belligerent—and -Kress—timid, beady-eyed and patient—would spend hours together. They -were a comical pair. Steve was always in command and very much the -captor. Kress was long-suffering and had a kind of doglike devotion to -his master, whose alternating jocular and tyrannical moods he seemed to -accept with equanimity and understanding. But all this we learned later. - -That first evening, while George went on with his description of -the work, Steve sat quietly appraising Lamont and me with his keen, -gray-green eyes. He had worked with Lamont at Bernterode, so I was his -main target. Now and then he would look over at George and throw in a -remark. Between the two there existed an extraordinary bond. As far as -Steve was concerned, George was perfect, and Steve had no use for anyone -who thought otherwise. If, at the end of a hard day, he occasionally -beefed about George and his merciless perfection—well, that was Steve’s -prerogative. For his part, George had a fatherly affection for Steve and -a quiet admiration for his energy and resourcefulness and the way he -handled the men under him. - -Presently Steve announced that it was late and went off to bed. I -wondered if he had sized me up. There was a flicker of amusement in -Lamont’s eyes and I guessed that he was wondering the same thing. When -George got up to go, he said, “You’ll find hot water down in the kitchen -in the morning. Breakfast will be at seven-thirty.” - -Steve roused us early with a knock on the door and said he’d show us -the way to the kitchen. We rolled out, painfully conscious of the cold -mountain air. Below, in the warm kitchen, the sun was pouring in through -the open door. There were still traces of snow on the mountaintops. The -highest peak, Steve said, was Loser. Its snowy coronet glistened in the -bright morning light. - -When my eyes became accustomed to the glare, I noticed that there were -several other people in the kitchen. One of them, a wrinkled little -fellow wearing _Lederhosen_ and white socks, was standing by the stove. -Steve saluted them cheerfully with a wave of his towel. They acknowledged -his greeting with good-natured nods and gruff monosyllables. These -curious mountain people, he said, belonged to families that had worked in -the mine for five hundred years. They were working for us now, as members -of his evacuation crew. - -We washed at a row of basins along one wall. Above them hung a sign -lettered with the homely motto: - - “_Nach der Arbeit_ - _Vor dem Essen_ - _Hände waschen_ - _Nicht vergessen._” - -It rang a poignant bell in my memory. That same admonition to wash before -eating had hung in the little pension at near-by Gründlsee where I had -spent a summer fifteen years ago. - -Our mess hall was in the guardhouse down the road, the square stone -building where the sentry had challenged us the night before. We lined -up with our plates and, when they had been heaped with scrambled eggs, -helped ourselves to toast, jam and coffee and sat down at a long wooden -table in the adjoining room. George was finishing his breakfast as the -three of us came in. With him was Lieutenant Shrady, who had recently -been commissioned a Monuments officer at Bad Homburg. Subsequently he had -been sent down to Alt Aussee by Captain Posey. He was a lean, athletic, -good-looking fellow. Although he helped occasionally with the loading, -his primary duties at the mine were of an administrative nature—handling -the workmen’s payrolls through the local Military Government Detachment, -obtaining their food rations, making inspections in the area, filing -reports and so on. After he and George had left, Steve told us that -Shrady was a portrait painter. Right now he was working on a portrait of -his civilian interpreter-secretary who, according to Steve, was something -rather special in the way of Viennese beauty. This was a new slant on -the work at the mine and I was curious to know more about the glamorous -Maria, whom Steve described as being “beaucoup beautiful.” But George -was waiting to take us down into the mine. As we walked up the road, -Steve explained to us that the miners worked in two shifts—one crew -from four in the morning until midday, another from noon until eight in -the evening. The purpose of the early morning shift was to maintain an -uninterrupted flow of “stuff” from the mine, so that the daytime loading -of the trucks would not bog down for lack of cargo. - -At the building in which the mine entrance was located we found George -with a group of the miners. It was just eight o’clock and the day’s work -was starting. We were introduced to two men dressed in white uniforms -which gave them an odd, hybrid appearance—a cross between a street -cleaner and a musical-comedy hussar. This outfit consisted of a white -duck jacket and trousers. The jacket had a wide, capelike collar reaching -to the shoulders. Two rows of ornamental black buttons converging at the -waistline adorned the front of the jacket, and a similar row ran up the -sleeves from cuff to elbow. In place of a belt, the jacket was held in -place by a tape drawstring. A black garrison cap completed the costume. - -The two men were Karl Sieber, the restorer, and Max Eder, an engineer -from Vienna. It was Eder’s job to list the contents of each truck. -Perched on a soapbox, he sat all day at the loading entrance, record -book and paper before him on a makeshift desk. He wrote down the number -of each object as it was carried through the door to the truck outside. -The truck list was made in duplicate: the original was sent to Munich -with the convoy; the copy was kept at the mine to be incorporated in the -permanent records which Lieutenant Shrady was compiling in his office on -the floor above. - -In the early days of their occupancy, the Nazis had recorded the loot, -piece by piece, as it entered the mine. The records were voluminous and -filled many ledgers. But, during the closing months of the war, such -quantities of loot had poured in that the system had broken down. Instead -of a single accession number, an object was sometimes given a number -which merely indicated with what shipment it had arrived. Occasionally -there would be several numbers on a single piece. Frequently a piece -would have no number at all. In spite of this confusion, Eder managed -somehow to produce orderly lists. If the information they contained was -not always definitive, it was invariably accurate. - -George was anxious to get started. “It’s cold down in the mine,” he said. -“You’d better put on the warmest things you brought with you.” - -“How cold is it?” I asked. - -“Forty degrees, Fahrenheit,” he said. “The temperature doesn’t vary -appreciably during the year. I believe it rises to forty-seven in the -winter. And the humidity is equally constant, about sixty-five per cent. -That’s why this particular salt mine was chosen as a repository, as you -probably know.” - -While we went up to get our jackets and mufflers, George ordered Sieber -to hitch up the train. When we returned we noticed that the miners, who -resembled a troop of Walt Disney dwarfs, were wearing heavy sweaters and -thick woolen jackets for protection against the subterranean cold. - -The train’s locomotion was provided by a small gasoline engine with -narrow running boards on either side which afforded foothold for the -operator. Attached to it were half a dozen miniature flat-cars or -“dollies.” The miners called them “Hünde,” that is, dogs. They were about -five feet long, and on them were placed heavy wooden boxes approximately -two feet wide. The sides were roughly two feet high. - -Following George’s example, we piled a couple of blankets on the bottom -of one of the boxes and squeezed ourselves in. Each box, with judicious -crowding, would accommodate two people facing each other. - -At a signal from Sieber, who was sardined into a boxcar with George, -one of the gnomes primed the engine. After a couple of false starts, -it began to chug and the train rumbled into the dim cavern ahead. For -the first few yards, the irregular walls were whitewashed, but we soon -entered a narrow tunnel cut through the natural rock. It varied in height -and width. In some places there would be overhead clearance of seven or -eight feet, and a foot or more on either side. In others the passageway -was just wide enough for the train, and the jagged rocks above seemed -menacingly close. There were electric lights in part of the tunnel, but -these were strung at irregular intervals. They shed a dim glow on the -moist walls. - -George shouted that we would stop first at the Kaiser Josef mine. The -track branched and a few minutes later we stopped beside a heavy iron -door set in the wall of the passageway. This part of the tunnel was not -illuminated, so carbide lamps were produced. By their flickering light, -George found the keyhole and unlocked the door. - -We followed him into the unlighted mine chamber. Flashlights supplemented -the wavering flames of the miners’ lamps. Ahead of us we could make out -row after row of huge packing cases. Beyond them was a broad wooden -platform. The rays of our flashlights revealed a bulky object resting on -the center of the platform. We came closer. We could see that it was a -statue, a marble statue. And then we knew—it was Michelangelo’s Madonna -from Bruges, one of the world’s great masterpieces. The light of our -lamps played over the soft folds of the Madonna’s robe, the delicate -modeling of the face. Her grave eyes looked down, seemed only half aware -of the sturdy Child nestling close against her, one hand firmly held in -hers. It is one of the earliest works of the great sculptor and one of -his loveliest. The incongruous setting of the bare boards served only to -enhance its gentle beauty. - -The statue was carved by Michelangelo in 1501, when he was only -twenty-six. It was bought from the sculptor by the Mouscron brothers -of Bruges, who presented it to the Church of Notre Dame early in the -sixteenth century. There it had remained until September 1944, when the -Germans, using the excuse that it must be “saved” from the American -barbarians, carried it off. - -In the early days of the war, the statue had been removed from its -traditional place in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament to a specially -built shelter in another part of the church. The shelter was not sealed, -so visitors could see the statue on request. Then one afternoon in -September 1944, the Bishop of Bruges, prompted by the suggestion of a -German officer that the statue was not adequately protected, ordered the -shelter bricked up. That night, before his orders could be carried out, -German officers arrived at the church and demanded that the dean hand -over the statue. With an armed crew standing by, they removed it from the -shelter, dumped it onto a mattress on the floor of a Red Cross lorry and -drove away. At the same time, they perpetrated another act of vandalism. -They took with them eleven paintings belonging to the church. Among them -were works by Gerard David, Van Dyck and Caravaggio. The statue and the -pictures were brought to the Alt Aussee mine. It was a miracle that the -two lorries with their precious cargo got through safely, for the roads -were being constantly strafed by Allied planes. - -Now we were about to prepare the Madonna for the trip back. This time she -would have more than a mattress for protection. - -In the same mine chamber with the Michelangelo was another plundered -masterpiece of sculpture—an ancient Greek sarcophagus from Salonika. It -had been excavated only a few years ago and was believed to date from the -sixth century B.C. Already the Greek government was clamoring for its -return. - -On our way back to the train, George said that the other cases—the ones -we had seen when we first went into the Kaiser Josef mine—contained the -dismantled panels of the Millionen Zimmer and the Chinesisches Kabinett -from Schönbrunn. The Alt Aussee mine, he said, had been originally -selected by the Viennese as a depot for Austrian works of art, which -accounted for the panels being there. They had been brought to the mine -in 1942. Then, a year later, the Nazis took it over as a repository for -the collections of the proposed Führer Museum at Linz. - -We boarded the train again and rumbled along a dark tunnel to the Mineral -Kabinett, one of the smaller mine chambers. Again there was an iron -door to be unlocked. We walked through a vestibule into a low-ceilinged -room about twenty feet square. The walls were light partitions of -unfinished lumber. Ranged about them were the panels of the great Ghent -altarpiece—the _Adoration of the Mystic Lamb_—their jewel-like beauty -undimmed after five hundred years. The colors were as resplendent as the -day they were painted by Hubert and Jan van Eyck in 1432. - -This famous altarpiece, the greatest single treasure of Belgium, had also -been seized by the Germans. One of the earliest examples of oil painting, -it consisted originally of twelve panels, eight of which were painted on -both sides. It was planned as a giant triptych of four central panels, -with four panels at either side. The matching side panels were designed -to fold together like shutters over a window. Therefore they were painted -on both sides. - -I knew something of the history of the altarpiece. It belonged originally -to the Cathedral of St. Bavon in Ghent. Early in the nineteenth century, -the wings had been purchased by Edward Solly, an Englishman living in -Germany. In 1816, he had sold them to the King of Prussia and they were -placed in the Berlin Museum. There they had remained until restored to -Belgium by the terms of the Versailles Treaty. From 1918 on, the entire -triptych was again in the Cathedral of St. Bavon. In 1933, the attention -of the world was drawn to the altarpiece when the panel in the lower -left-hand corner was stolen. This was one of the panels painted on both -sides. The obverse represented the _Knights of Christ_; the reverse, _St. -John the Baptist_. - -According to the story, the thief sent the cathedral authorities an -anonymous letter demanding a large sum of money and guarantee of his -immunity for the return of the panels. As proof that the panels were in -his possession, he is said to have returned the reverse panel with his -extortion letter. The authorities agreed to these terms but sought to lay -a trap for the culprit. Their attempt was unsuccessful and nothing was -heard of the panel until a year or so later. - -On his deathbed, the thief—one of the beadles of the cathedral—confessed -his guilt. As he lay dying, he managed to gasp, “You will find the panel -...” but he got no further. The panel has never been found. - -In May 1940, the Belgians entrusted the altarpiece to France for -safekeeping. Packed in ten cases, it was stored in the Château of Pau -together with many important works of art from the Louvre. The Director -of the French National Museums, mindful of his grave responsibilities, -obtained explicit guarantees from the Germans that these treasures would -be left inviolate. By the terms of this agreement, confirmed by the -Vichy Ministry of Fine Arts, the Ghent altar was not to be moved without -the joint consent of the Director of the French National Museums, the -Mayor of Ghent and the German organization for the protection of French -monuments. - -Notwithstanding this contract, the Director of the French National -Museums learned quite by accident in August 1942 that the altarpiece had -just been taken to Paris. Dr. Ernst Büchner, who was director of the -Bavarian State Museums, in company with three other German officers had -gone to Pau the day before with a truck and ordered the Director of the -Museum there to hand over the retable. A telegram from M. Bonnard, Vichy -Minister of Fine Arts, arriving simultaneously, reinforced Dr. Büchner’s -demands. Nothing was known of its destination or whereabouts, beyond the -fact that it had been taken to Paris. - -There the matter rested until the summer of 1944. With the arrival of -Allied armies on French soil, reports of missing masterpieces were -received by our MFA&A officers. The Ghent altarpiece was among them. -But there were no clues as to where it had gone. Months passed and by -the time our troops had approached Germany, our Monuments officers, all -similarly briefed with photographs and other pertinent data concerning -stolen works of art, began to hear rumors about the _Lamb_. It might be -in the Rhine fortress of Ehrenbreitstein; perhaps it had been taken to -the Berghof at Berchtesgaden or possibly to Karinhall, Göring’s palatial -estate near Berlin. And then again it might have been flown out of the -country altogether—to one of the neutral countries, Spain or Switzerland. - -Captain Posey and Private Lincoln Kirstein picked up additional rumors -from museum directors in Luxembourg. They had heard that the altarpiece -was in a salt mine, but they had also been told that it was in the -vaults of the Berlin Reichsbank. It was impossible to reconcile these -conflicting pieces of information. Finally, near Trier, Posey and -Kirstein tracked down a young German scholar who had been in France -during the occupation. Lincoln told me later that it was hard to believe -that this unassuming fellow had been high in the confidence of Göring and -other members of the Nazi inner circle. From him they learned that the -altarpiece had been taken to Alt Aussee. - -Then followed the rapid advance across Germany. To Posey and Kirstein it -was a period of agonizing suspense. They couldn’t be sure that Third Army -would move into the area in which the mine lay. Just as their hopes began -to fade, occupancy of the cherished area did fall to Third Army. Tactical -troops were alerted to the importance of the isolated mountain region. -It was of no significance as a military objective and would doubtless -otherwise have been left unoccupied for the moment. They pressed forward -through Bad Ischl and the wild confusion of capitulating German troops to -the wilder confusion of surrendering SS units in the little village of -Alt Aussee itself. From there it was but a mile to the mine. - -When they reached the mine, they found it heavily guarded by men of -the 80th Infantry Division, but the mine had been dynamited. It wasn’t -possible to go into the mine chambers. Armed with acetylene lamps, Posey -and Lincoln entered the main tunnel. They groped their way along the damp -passageway for a distance of a quarter of a mile or more before they -reached the debris of the first block. After assessing the damage they -returned to consult the Austrian mineworkers. The miners said it would -take from ten days to two weeks to clear the passageway. Captain Posey -thought that the Army Engineers could do it in less than a week, perhaps -in two or three days. Both were wrong. They entered the first mine -chamber the next day. - -And now, here before us, stood the fabulous panels which they had found -on that May morning a few weeks before. While we examined them, Sieber -pieced out the one gap in the story of the altarpiece: the Nazis had -taken it from Paris to the Castle of Neuschwanstein where a restorer from -Munich worked on the blisters which had developed on some of the panels. -The altarpiece remained at the castle for two years. It was brought to -the mine in the summer of 1944. Pieces of waxed paper were still affixed -to the surface of the panels, on the places where the blisters had been -laid. The big panel representing St. John had split lengthwise with the -grain of wood. This had happened at the mine. Sieber had repaired it, -and George said he had done a good job. As we were leaving the Mineral -Kabinett, Sieber asked me if Andrew Mellon really had offered ten million -dollars for the altarpiece. People had said so in Berlin. I hated to tell -him that the story was without foundation, so far as I knew. - -When we came out of the mine at noon we found that Steve and Shrady had -finished loading two trucks. They said they had enough pictures left -to fill two more. The afternoon crew would be coming on at four. In -the meantime it was up to Lamont and me to select at least two hundred -paintings, so that the loading could go on without interruption. - -After lunch we returned to the mine with Sieber. This time the trip on -the train was much longer. Our objective was a part of the mine called -the Springerwerke. Owing to the peculiar honeycomb structure of the mine -network, it had been necessary to establish guard posts at intervals -along the tunnels. One of these was at the entrance to the Springerwerke. -Two GIs were on duty. It was a dismal assignment as well as a cold one. -They were bundled up in fleece-lined coats which had been made for German -troops on the Russian front. George and Steve had obtained about two -hundred of these coats and were using them for packing unframed pictures. -Each time a convoy of empty trucks returned from Munich, they counted the -coats carefully to make sure that none had disappeared. - -The Springerwerke contained more than two thousand paintings. They were -arranged in two tiers around three sides and down the center of a room -fifty feet long and thirty feet wide. In one section we found thirty -or forty Italian paintings of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries -from the well known Lanz Collection of Amsterdam. Next to them we came -upon the group of canvases, which the Germans in their greedy haste had -filched from Bruges when they had made off with the Michelangelo Madonna. -Aside from these two lots, the pictures had been stored according to -size rather than by provenance. It was a bewildering assortment. Quality -was to be our guide in making this initial selection. And as a kind -of corollary, we were to set aside for shipment all pictures bearing -the infamous “E.R.R.” stencil—the initials of the Rosenberg looting -organization. We had Sieber and four of the gnomes to help. Sieber stood -by with list and flashlight. Two of the gnomes hauled out the pictures -for us to examine. The other two put protective pads of paper filled with -excelsior across the corners of the ones chosen. - -By the end of the afternoon we had picked out between a hundred and -fifty and two hundred paintings. The crew which had come on at four had -already gone up with one trainload. We took stock of the lot waiting -to go. We hadn’t done so badly: our selection included works of Hals, -Breughel, Titian, Rembrandt, Tintoretto, Rubens, Van Dyck, Lancret, -Nattier, Reynolds, and a raft of smaller examples of the seventeenth -century Dutch school. Not a dud among them, we agreed smugly. - -Before we knocked off for supper, Sieber showed us an adjoining room -divided into small compartments. Each one contained a miscellaneous -assortment of art objects—pictures, porcelain, bric-a-brac of various -kinds. Each compartment bore a label with the name of a different family, -fifteen or twenty in all. They were the pilfered possessions of Viennese -Jewish families. Our feelings were of both pathos and disgust. After -working with the fruits of looting on a grand scale, we found these -trifles sordid evidences of greedy persecution. - -Lamont and I spent the next two days in the Springerwerke. We worked -nights as well. It was a molelike existence. On the third morning we -transferred our base of operations to the Kammergrafen, the largest of -the mine caverns and the most remote. It was three-quarters of a mile -from the mine entrance. Whereas the other mine chambers were on one -level, the great galleries of the Kammergrafen were on several. Beyond -those in which floors had been laid, there were vast unlighted caves of -echoing blackness. - -The galleries were so high that those on the first level could -accommodate three tiers of pictures between floor and ceiling, while -those on the second had four tiers. - -The records listed _six thousand pictures_. In addition there were -quantities of sculpture, hundreds of examples of the very finest -eighteenth century French cabinetwork, tapestries and rugs, and the books -and manuscripts of the Biblioteca Herziana in Rome—one of the greatest -historical libraries in the world. Kammergrafen was quality and quantity -combined, for here had been stored the collections for Linz. - -Among the pictures, for example, were canvases from the Rothschild, -Gutmann and Mannheimer collections, the celebrated tempera panels of the -fourteenth century Hohenfurth altarpiece, Rembrandts and other great -Dutch masters from the stock of Goudstikker, who had been the Duveen of -Amsterdam, a collection of French pictures known as the “Sammlung Berta,” -and hundreds of nineteenth century German paintings, these last the -objects of Hitler’s special veneration. - -The sculpture ranged from ancient to modern, with notable emphasis on -examples of the Gothic period. There were Egyptian tomb figures, Roman -portrait busts, Renaissance and Baroque bronzes, exquisite French marbles -of the eighteenth century and delicate Tanagra figurines. A bewildering -hodgepodge of the plastic arts. - -There were tapestries from Cracow, furniture from the Castle at Posen, -rows of inlaid tables and cabinets from the Vienna Rothschilds, shelves -and cases filled with the finest porcelains, prints and drawings of the -sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the decorations from -the Reichskanzlei in Berlin, and Hitler’s own purchases from the annual -exhibitions of German art in Munich. Such was the Kammergrafen treasure. -And the best of it, as I have said before, was to have adorned the -galleries of the unbuilt Führer Museum at Linz, the city by the Danube -which Hitler aspired to raise to the dignity of Vienna. - -The rarest treasure of that collection was the celebrated Vermeer -_Portrait of the Artist in His Studio_. This superb work of the -seventeenth Dutch master, by whom there are only some forty unquestioned -examples in the world, had been for years in the collection of Count -Czernin at Vienna. The collection was semipublic; I had visited it before -the war. Known simply as the “Czernin Vermeer,” the picture had long been -coveted by the great collectors. It had remained for Hitler to succeed -where others had failed: he acquired this masterpiece in 1940 for an -alleged price of one million, four hundred thousand Reichsmarks—part -of his earnings from the sale of _Mein Kampf_. He boasted at the time -that Mr. Mellon had offered six million dollars for it. Whether the -sale was made under duress is still a matter of controversy. Members of -the Czernin family today contend that it was. The picture has now been -returned to Vienna where the matter will be ultimately decided. - -Rivaling the Vermeer in international significance were the fifteen -cases of paintings and sculpture from Monte Cassino. The paintings -included Titian’s _Danaë_, Raphael’s _Madonna of the Divine Love_, Peter -Breughel’s _Blind Leading the Blind_, a _Crucifixion_ by Van Dyck, an -_Annunciation_ by Filippino Lippi, a _Sacra Conversazione_ by Palma -Vecchio, a _Landscape_ by Claude Lorraine, and Sebastiano del Piombo’s -_Portrait of Pope Clement VII_. Among the sculpture were antique bronzes -of the greatest rarity and importance from Herculaneum and Pompeii. All -had belonged to the Naples Museum. In 1943 the Italians had placed them, -together with one hundred and seventy-two other cases of objects from -the Naples Museum, in the Abbey of Monte Cassino for safekeeping. The -following January, arrangements were made for all of the cases to be -returned to the Vatican. When they arrived, fifteen were missing. Members -of the Hermann Göring Division had carried them off as a birthday gift -for the Reichsmarschall. Göring was incensed, when he learned of the -arrival of these treasures, and refused to accept them. There is reason -to believe that such was his reaction, for he had striven to maintain -a semblance of legality in his art transactions. Even this rapacious -collector could not have interpreted the behavior of his loyal officers -as “correct,” so far as the Monte Cassino affair was concerned. After the -Reichsmarschall’s refusal of the cases, they were brought to Alt Aussee -for storage, pending their later return to Italy. - -The Springerwerke had been child’s play compared with the task -confronting us in the Kammergrafen. We began arbitrarily with the big -pictures. Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Van Dyck, Rubens, Rembrandt—all -were represented in profusion. Many of them were from private collections -in Holland, Belgium and France, and were unknown to us save through -reproduction. It was a great lesson in connoisseurship, particularly when -we had exhausted the “stars” and come to the lesser masters. The Dutch -school of the seventeenth century was abundantly represented. There were -scores, hundreds, of still lifes and flower paintings. My predilection -for them amused Lamont and Sieber. I had always admired these incredibly -deft creations of the seventeenth century Dutch artists, and here was an -unparalleled opportunity to study them. - -There was one peculiar thing about our selections: if a picture looked -good to us down in the mine, it invariably looked better when we examined -it later in the light of day at the mine entrance. This happened time -and again. I remember one instance in particular. The painting was a -large Rembrandt, a study of two dead peacocks. Down in the mine we had -looked at it without much enthusiasm, though we admired it, and had even -hesitated to include it in that first selection, which was to number only -the best of the best. The next morning, as it was being loaded onto the -truck, we were struck by its distinction. - -And I remember the next time I saw that picture: it was at the -Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It was included in the small group of -outstanding Dutch masterpieces returned to Holland by special plane as a -gesture of token restitution in the name of General Eisenhower! - -Lamont and I liked Sieber, the German restorer. Lamont referred to him as -the “tragic Gilles in white.” Not that there was anything particularly -tragic about him, any more than there was about the plight in which most -Nazis found themselves. He made no bones about having joined the Party -in the early thirties—ironically enough at the suggestion of one of his -clients, a Jewish art dealer, who had thought it would be a good thing -for Sieber’s business. Sieber had been a restorer of pictures in Berlin -and had done a little dealing on the side. It was the half-mournful -expression he perpetually wore, together with his white costume, that -accounted for Lamont’s appellation. George had described him as a good, -run-of-the-mill restorer, perhaps a little better than average. He -had sized him up as a man ninety-eight per cent preoccupied with his -profession and possibly two per cent concerned with politics. And George, -as I think I have observed before, was a good judge of men. Sieber was -a quiet, willing worker. He was neither fawning on the one hand, nor -arrogant on the other. When you asked him a question, you always got a -considered answer. - -One evening we drew Sieber out on the subject of the attempted -destruction of the mine. We had heard several versions of this fantastic -plot and, according to one, Sieber had been instrumental in foiling -the conspirators. The story was as follows: On the tenth, thirteenth -and thirtieth of April 1945, Glinz, the Gauinspektor of Ober-Donau, -had come to the mine with eight great cases marked in black letters -“_Marmor—Nicht stürzen_,” that is, “Marble—Don’t drop.” He was acting on -explicit instructions from Eigruber, Gauleiter of the region, to place -them at strategic positions in the mine tunnels. Each case contained a -hundred-pound bomb. Had these bombs been detonated, the entire contents -of the mine would have been destroyed. The resulting cave-ins would have -blocked every means of access. It would have taken months to repair the -apparatus which carried off the water seeping constantly into the mine -chambers. By that time the treasures they contained would have been -completely ruined. It is generally agreed that Eigruber had obtained -Hitler’s tacit consent to this artistic Götterdämmerung, if not his -actual approval of it. - -I learned later that Captain Posey found a letter from Martin Bormann, -Hitler’s deputy, stating in the first paragraph that the contents of -the mine must, at all costs, be kept from falling into the hands of the -enemy. And then the second paragraph stated that the contents of the mine -must not be harmed. - -Members of the Austrian resistance movement got wind of this diabolical -plan and took Sieber into their confidence. His intimate knowledge of -the mine passageways enabled him to set off small charges of dynamite -here and there along the tunnels without endangering the contents of the -chambers beyond. The resulting damage was slight and served a twofold -purpose: it gave the impression that the mine had been permanently -walled up; and, if that ruse were discovered, immediate access to the -art works themselves was denied the plotters. Eigruber did discover -that his attempt had been thwarted and in his rage gave orders for the -counterconspirators to be rounded up and shot. But by that time it was -the seventh of May, so the tragedy was mercifully averted. - -Sieber told the story in a straightforward, factual way. I don’t think -it mattered to him who got control of the mine, but it was simply -unthinkable that any harm should come to the precious things it housed. -It was very much to his credit that he never capitalized on the part he -played in this affair. The only other reference he made to it was when he -later showed us the places where he had set off the charges of dynamite. - -During all the time we were at the mine, Sieber made only one request -of us. It came at the very end of our stay and was reasonable enough: -he asked if we could expedite his return to Germany. There seemed to be -little prospect of regular employment for him in Austria, but that was of -less concern to him than the welfare of his wife and young daughter who -lived with him in a house near the mine. Some months later, one of our -officers tried to get him a job in Wiesbaden, but he was not acceptable -to the Military Government authorities there because of his political -affiliations. The last I heard of him, he and his family were still at -Alt Aussee, waiting for permission to go back to Germany. I hope they -finally got it. - -Our concentrated efforts underground produced the desired results. -Pictures were coming out of the mine at such a prodigious rate that -George called a halt. Enough of a backlog had been accumulated to make -further selection down in the mine unnecessary for a couple of days. -Lamont and I had better help with the actual loading. - -Loading a truck was a specialized operation, and George had perfected the -technique. Lamont, Steve and Shrady were his pupils. That left me the -only neophyte. So far I had had experience only with the loading of cases -and heavier objects such as furniture and sculpture. - -Packing pictures, especially unframed ones—and there were a great many of -the latter at Alt Aussee—was an altogether different problem. The first -step was to place a length of waterproof paper over the side bars of the -truck and spread it smoothly on the floor to the center of the truck bed. -For this we had a large supply of stout, green, clothlike paper which -had been used by the Wehrmacht as protection against gas attacks. Then -a strip of felt was laid over the paper. The third step was to place -“sausages” in two rows, end to end, on the floor of the truck. The space -between the rows would depend on the size of the pictures to be loaded, -for they were intended to cushion the shock as the trucks rumbled along -over bumpy roads. The “sausages” had been George’s invention. Packing -materials of all kinds were at a premium, and certain types just didn’t -exist. To make up for the lack of the usual packer’s pads, George had -improvised this substitute. In one of the mine chambers he had found a -large supply of ordinary curtain material of machine-made ecru lace. This -had been cut up into yard lengths, eighteen inches wide. When rolled -around a central core of coarser cloth, or sometimes excelsior, and tied -with string, they were a very satisfactory “ersatz” product. We used to -refer to them augustly as the pads made from Hitler’s window curtains. -Their manufacture was periodically one of the major industries at the -mine. George had trained a crew of the gnomes and they loved to turn them -out. It was easy work. Seated at long benches they resembled a kind of -Alpine “husking bee.” - -Once the paper, felt and “sausages” were in place, the pictures could -be brought to the truck. One after another they were placed in a stack -leading from the sideboards of the truck to the center. Pads and small -blankets were inserted between them to prevent rubbing. To ensure safe -packing, all the pictures in a given row had to be carefully selected as -to size, ranging from large to medium in one, and from medium to small -in another. That was the most tedious part of the entire operation. -As soon as a row had been “built,” it required only a few minutes to -bring first the felt and then the green paper over the top of the row, -tuck both down along the sides, and then lash the whole stack firmly -to the side of the truck. By this method it was possible to load as -many as a hundred and fifty medium-sized canvases on a single truck, -for three rows of twenty-five each could be built up on either side of -our big two-and-a-half-ton trucks. A truck loaded in this way could -often accommodate several pieces of sculpture as well. Carefully padded -and swathed in blankets, these could be placed down the center. The -final step was to adjust the tarpaulin over the bows and to close the -tailboard. A truck of the size we used could normally be loaded in two -hours. - -We were at the mercy of the weather, as far as loading was concerned. On -rainy days we could work on only one truck at a time, because there was -but one doorway with a protective stoop under which a single truck could -park. Taking advantage of the sunny mornings, we would divide up into two -teams—George and Steve on one truck, Lamont and I on another. As soon -as a truck was filled and the tarpaulin securely fastened down, it was -driven to one side of the narrow terrace in front of the building. The -average convoy consisted of six trucks. - -We had a crew of eighteen Negro drivers. Barboza, the C.O., was a very -starchy lieutenant, Jamaica born. He and his men were billeted down in -the little town of Bad Aussee. They were magnificent drivers but a bit -reckless. Their occasional disregard for their vehicles was a worry to -George. It would have been so with any drivers, I guess. A breakdown on -the steep mountain roads could be a serious matter. It meant the complete -disruption of the convoy schedule, involving reloading en route. To -provide for this contingency, we made a practice of loading the trucks -to three-quarters of their capacity. The contents of a single truck could -thus be absorbed by the others. - -When a convoy was ready to start, either George or I would lead off in a -jeep and escort the six trucks down the precipitous road to Alt Aussee. -Two half-tracks from the 11th Armored Division, as front and rear guards, -would be waiting to accompany the convoy to Munich. - -At breakfast one morning George said, “This looks like a good day to load -the gold-seal products.” He meant the Michelangelo Madonna and the Ghent -altarpiece. This was an important event, for they were unquestionably the -two most precious things still at the mine. Every possible precaution -would have to be taken to make this operation a success. It must go off -without a hitch. If anything happened to either of these masterpieces, -the repercussions would be catastrophic. They would overshadow all the -accomplishments of our MFA&A officers. - -For the past several days, George and Steve had been working on the -Madonna. She was now heavily padded and trussed up like a ham, ready to -be brought out of the mine. We all went down to the Kaiser Josef chamber -where we had first seen her. George made a final inspection of the ropes -and pulleys which had been set up to hoist her onto the waiting train. -Then, with a satisfied smile, he said, “I think we could bounce her from -Alp to Alp, all the way to Munich, without doing her any harm.” - -Once the statue was gently loaded on the little flat car, the train -pulled slowly out of the mine chamber and switched back onto the track of -the main tunnel. From there it chugged slowly—George walking alongside—to -the mine entrance where the truck stood waiting. This truck and the one -which was to carry the altarpiece had been put in perfect condition. -And George had put the fear of God into the two drivers, both of whom he -had personally chosen from our crew. A dozen of the gnomes were waiting -to lift the marble onto the truck. We slid it cautiously to the fore -part where boards had been laid parallel and nailed to the floor. These -would prevent shifting. On either side of the statue, small packing cases -about two feet square were arranged in even rows and lashed firmly to the -sides of the truck. These cases had been stored in a chamber of the mine -called the Kapelle. They contained the coin collection intended for the -Linz Museum and were accordingly marked “Münz Kabinett” or Coin Room. -Blankets were wedged in between the cases and the statue. The large case -containing the Greek sarcophagus from Salonika was set in place behind -the statue and similarly secured to the floor and at the sides. That -done, the truck was ready to go. - -As George was putting the finishing touches on the packing, he said, -“Tom, will you go down and get the ‘Lamb’?” To be entrusted with the -removal of the great altarpiece was an exciting assignment. I wanted -to share it with someone who would also get a kick out of telling his -grandchildren that he had actually brought the famous panels out of their -underground hiding place. I called Lamont, and the two of us, followed by -eight of the gnomes, hitched four of the “dogs” to the little engine and -proceeded to the Mineral Kabinett. One of the “dogs,” especially designed -to carry pictures of unusual height, had a lower bed than the others. We -would use this one for the big central panel of the altarpiece. Otherwise -it would not clear a portion of the mine tunnel where the jagged rocks -hung low over the track. - -The panels were now in their cases, and it was a relatively simple -matter to carry them from the storage room to the train. We had to make -two trips down and back in order to get all ten cases up to the mine -entrance. They were much lighter than the statue, but the loading was a -more exacting undertaking. Lashing them upright in parallel rows, in the -truck, and stowing cases on either side for ballast, took time. We didn’t -finish until well after six. It had taken most of the day to load the -“gold-seal products.” - -[Illustration: _Mary Magdalene_ by Cranach. Göring was especially fond of -Cranach’s work and owned many paintings by him.] - -[Illustration: _The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine_ by David was one -of the finest in the Göring Collection.] - -[Illustration: _Diana_, an exquisite Boucher acquired by Göring from the -Rothschild Collection, has been returned to France.] - -[Illustration: _Atalanta and Meleager_ by Rubens, found in the Göring -Collection, was from the Goudstikker Collection of Amsterdam.] - -That night we held a conference in George’s room. He was to go to Munich -the next morning with the convoy to supervise the unloading of the -Madonna and the “Lamb” at the depot. He expected to come back directly, -but might have to go on up to Frankfurt. He mapped out the work he -wanted us to do while he was away. In addition to the job at the mine, -there was a special one down at Bad Ischl. A series of famous panels by -Albrecht Altdorfer, one of the greatest German painters of the fifteenth -century, was stored on the second floor of a highly combustible old inn. -These panels were among his finest works and belonged to the monastery -of St. Florian outside Linz. Fifty or sixty pieces of sculpture—mostly -polychromed wood figures, fifteenth century Gothic—also the property of -the monastery, were stored there too. George thought we’d better figure -on two trucks. We were to pick up the stuff, bring it back to the mine -and then send it to Munich with the next convoy. - -We made notations of what he had told us, and then Steve produced -drinks—something of an occasion, for liquor was hard to come by at the -mine. Somehow he had got hold of a bottle of cognac and insisted on -making “Alpine Specials.” This was a drink consisting of a jigger of -cognac and an equal amount of a pink syrupy liquid resembling grenadine. -Steve prized the syrup. Eder, the chemical engineer at the mine, had -concocted it especially for him. The mixture made a drink of dubious -merit. We drank to the success of George’s trip to Munich. - -The convoy got off early the next morning. Lamont and I went down with -George as far as the village. Two half-tracks were waiting to escort the -trucks to Munich. They were equipped with radios for intercommunication, -in case of delays along the way. Between Alt Aussee and Salzburg, the -road led through isolated country. Conditions were as yet far from -settled. Small bands of SS troops still lurked in the mountains. The -half-tracks weren’t just going along for the ride. - -When we returned to the mine, we found Steve and Shrady in conversation. -They were planning an excursion and asked us to join them. We expressed -pious disapproval of letting up on the job the minute George’s back was -turned. Steve’s answer was, “That’s a crock. I haven’t taken a day off in -two weeks. You can do as you like, me lads; I’m off to see the wizard.” -The two of them climbed into the sporty Mercedes-Benz convertible which -Shrady had recently acquired, and drove off down the mountain. - -“I have an idea,” said Lamont. “They can have their fun today. We’ll have -ours tomorrow, while they pick up the Altdorfer panels at Bad Ischl.” - -Lamont turned to the loading of trucks, while I went down to the -Kammergrafen with Sieber. In the course of the morning I selected -approximately two hundred pictures. We concentrated on those of small -size, which were stored on the top racks, and the work went rapidly. -Among the paintings we chose was one which had a typewritten label on -the back. I read the words “Von dem Führer noch nicht entschieden”—not -yet decided upon by the Führer. I asked Sieber what this signified. -He explained that every picture intended for the Linz Museum—and this -was one of them—had to be personally approved by Hitler before it -could be officially included in the prospective collection. I could -easily understand that the Führer would have wanted to examine the more -important acquisitions, but that each canvas had to receive his personal -approval struck me as preposterous. Hitler had entrusted the formation -of his collections first to Dr. Hans Posse, a noted scholar, and, after -his death, to Dr. Hermann Voss, director of the Dresden Gallery. This -meticulous procedure, involving the submission of all pictures to the -Führer in Munich, must have been trying to those two luminaries of the -German art world. - -When I came up from the mine for lunch I found that Lamont had completed -the loading of two trucks. As the stock of pictures in the packing -room at the mine entrance was almost exhausted, he said that he would -join Sieber and me in making further selections. We returned to the -Kammergrafen and continued with the smaller pictures. - -On one of the top shelves we found a cardboard carton bearing the name of -Dr. Helmut von Hümmel, who had been connected with the formation of the -Linz collections. The label indicated that the contents had been destined -for the museum. On the carton appeared the word “_Sittenbilder_.” -Lamont and I knew the word “_Bilder_” meant pictures, but the other two -syllables conveyed nothing. Sieber knew very little English but tried to -explain. He thought perhaps the word meant “customs,” or something like -that. I thought that I understood him. He probably meant that they were -little scenes from everyday life. - -We opened the carton. On top were three small watercolors, with beautiful -gray-blue mounts and carved, gilt frames. If they were not by François -Boucher, they were by a close pupil. The workmanship was exquisite and -they were highly pornographic. So these were “_Sittenbilder_.” In our -limited German we tried to tell Sieber that they might be called “scenes -from life,” but hardly everyday life. - -The rest of the things in the carton were of the same order, some of them -contemporary, all of them licentious. None approached the first three -watercolors in sheer virtuosity of technique. We wondered just which -department of the Linz Museum would have harbored them. - -Later we showed them to Steve. When he looked at the three watercolors he -asked, “Who did those?” - -“They look very much like Boucher,” I said without thinking. - -“Boucher?” asked Steve incredulously. “Not the fellow who painted that -‘Holy Family’ I saw this afternoon?” - -Lamont said quickly, “Tom means a pupil of Boucher, not Boucher himself.” - -“Well, that’s more like it,” said Steve. “I didn’t see how an artist who -painted anything so beautiful as that big picture could paint smutty -things like these.” - -The Holy Family to which he referred was a sensitive and tender -representation. Steve’s point was well taken. The fact that he had not -seen much eighteenth century French painting didn’t alter the validity of -his argument. - -On our way up from the Kammergrafen that afternoon we stopped at the -Kapelle. This was one of the mine chambers which I had visited only long -enough to take out some of the cases used in packing the Bruges Madonna. -In addition to the Münz Kabinett collections, the Kapelle contained the -magnificent collection of Spanish armor—casques, breastplates, full -suits of armor, and a great number of firearms—which had been gathered -together at Schloss Konopischt by the late Archduke Franz Ferdinand. -Most of it was of sixteenth century workmanship, exquisitely inlaid with -gold and silver. Formerly Austrian, it had been the property of the -Czech government since the last World War. Nonetheless, the Germans had -carried it off, using some flimsy nationalistic argument to justify their -action. While the atmosphere of the mine was excellent for paintings, it -was not satisfactory for metal objects. Consequently, every piece in the -Konopischt collection had been heavily coated with grease to keep it from -oxidizing. - -Their storage room, the Kapelle, was—as the name indicates—a chapel, -dedicated to the memory of Dollfuss, the Austrian Chancellor. It had an -electrically illuminated altar, hewn from a block of translucent salt -crystal, which was one of the sights of the mine. - -That night when Steve and Shrady returned from their outing we all had -hot chocolate and cheese and crackers in the comfortable kitchen on the -ground floor of the main building. They had had a wonderful day. Maria, -Shrady’s interpreter-secretary, had been with them. They had gone first -to St. Wolfgang. There a sentry had tried to prevent them from driving -up the road leading to the little church. Leopold, the Belgian king, was -living near there with his wife, and motorists were not allowed on that -road. But they had got around the sentry and gone into the church to see -the wonderful carved altarpiece by Michael Pacher. Steve had brought us -some colored photographs of it. Afterward they had had a swim in the lake -and a picnic lunch. And in the afternoon—this had been the high spot of -the day—they had gone over to Bad Ischl and called on Franz Léhar. The -old fellow had been delighted to see them, had played the _Merry Widow_ -waltz for them and given them autographed photographs. It sounded like -fun. Our day at the mine had been very prosaic in comparison. Mention of -Bad Ischl reminded Lamont of his scheme for the next day. He proposed to -Steve and Shrady that they should call for the Altdorfer panels. They -fell in with the suggestion at once, and before we could explain that we -thought we’d take the day off, Steve was telling us about some of the -things we should see in the neighborhood. - -We slept late and when we got up the sky was gray and threatening. It -was no day for an outing. In fact it was so cold that we decided we’d be -warmer down in the mine. There was still one series of chambers which -we had not explored. This was the Mondsberg, and it took us almost -three-quarters of an hour to reach it. The pictures were arranged on -racks as in the Kammergrafen and the Springerwerke, only in the Mondsberg -there were a great many contemporary paintings. It didn’t take us long to -run through them. They were all obviously German-owned and, judging from -the labels, the great majority of the canvases had been included in the -annual exhibitions at the Haus der Deutschen Kunst in Munich. - -Ranged along one side of the main chamber was a row of old pictures. -These were of high quality, and we went through them carefully. I came to -a canvas which looked vaguely familiar. It was the portrait of a young -woman dressed in a gown of cherry brocade. I guessed it to be sixteenth -century Venetian, perhaps by Paris Bordone. I said to Lamont, “I’m sure -I’ve seen that picture somewhere, but I can’t place it.” - -“Let’s see if there’s any mark on the back that might give you a lead,” -said Lamont. - -He found a label and started reading aloud, “California Palace of the -Legion of Honor, San Francisco....” - -I thought he was joking. But not at all. There was the printed label -of my museum. And there too _in my own handwriting_ appeared the words -“Portrait of a Young Woman, by Paris Bordone”! No wonder the portrait -had looked familiar. I had borrowed it from a New York art dealer for a -special loan exhibition of Venetian painting in the summer of 1938. I -learned from the mine records that the dealer had subsequently sold the -picture to a Jewish private collector in Paris. The Nazis had confiscated -it with the rest of his collection. It was a weird business finding it -seven years later in an Austrian salt mine. - -After supper that evening Shrady asked us to go down to Alt Aussee with -him. Some Viennese friends of his were having an evening of music. -The weather had cleared and the snow on the mountains was pink in the -afterglow as we drove down the winding road from the mine. The house, a -small chalet, stood on the outskirts of the village. Our host, his wife -and their two daughters, had taken refuge there just before the Russians -reached Vienna. - -He introduced us to Dr. Victor Luithlen, one of the curators of the -Vienna Museum, who had driven over from Laufen. Many of the finest things -from the museum were stored in the salt mine there. Dr. Luithlen was the -custodian. - -Both he and Shrady played the piano well. Luithlen played some Brahms -and Shrady followed with the music he had composed for a ballet based -on Poe’s “Raven.” Shrady said that it had been produced by the Russian -Ballet in New York. It was a very flamboyant piece and Shrady performed -it with terrific virtuosity. - -Afterward coffee and strudel were served. The atmosphere of the household -was casual and friendly. I was reminded of what an Austrian friend of -mine had once told me: “In other countries, conditions are often serious, -but not desperate; in Austria they are often desperate but never serious.” - -Thinking that George Stout might have returned from Munich, Lamont and -I went back up to the mine that night before the others. George had -just come in. He brought exciting but disturbing news. We were to -continue the work at Alt Aussee for another ten days. Then we were to -transfer our base of operations to Berchtesgaden. Our job there would -be the evacuation of the Göring collection! On our way through Salzburg -we were to pick up the pictures and tapestries from the Vienna Museum. -These were the paintings by Velásquez, Titian and Breughel which had -been highjacked by the Nazis two months ago and later retrieved by our -officers. The disturbing part of what George had to tell was that he was -going to leave us to carry on alone at the mine. He would try to join us -at Berchtesgaden. But there was a possibility that he might not be able -to make it. - -Months ago George had put in a request for transfer to the Pacific. -He felt that things were shaping up on the European scene and that -others could carry on the work. There would be a big job protecting and -salvaging works of art in Japan. He didn’t think that a program had -been planned. He had offered his services. He had already told us that -he had asked for this assignment, but we had never considered it as a -possibility of the present or even of the immediate future. Now it looked -as though it might materialize at once. In any case he was going up to -Frankfurt the day after tomorrow to find out. - -“As senior officer, Tom,” George said, “you will take over as headman -of the team. I’ll take you down to see Colonel Davitt before I go. He -is responsible for the security guard here at the mine and has been -extremely co-operative. You should go to him if you have any complaints -about the arrangements after I am gone.” - -Back in our rooms that night Lamont said, “I have a hunch that this is -the last we’ll see of George. It’s not like him to talk the way he did -tonight if he hasn’t a pretty good idea that he won’t be coming back.” - -Together we mapped out a tentative division of the work ahead. Steve, -who had come into the room in time to hear George’s news, joined our -discussion. It was after midnight when the first meeting of the “three -powers” broke up. - -While George was in Munich he had been informed of the imminent -withdrawal of Third Army from the part of Austria in which we were -working. No one could, or would, tell him the exact date, but it appeared -likely that it would take place within two weeks. It was difficult for -me to understand why the arrival of another American army—General Mark -Clark’s Fifth from Italy—should cause the cessation of our operations. -But of course the Army had its own way of doing things. We were attached -to Third Army and if they were getting out, we would have to get out with -them. All along we had known that this might happen before we could empty -the mine. It was quite probable that Fifth Army would want to resume the -work, but it would take time. Such a delay would impede the processes -of restitution, and we had therefore been giving first attention to the -finest things. - -Having taken stock of the paintings, sculpture and furniture on which we -were going to concentrate in the time we had left, we spent George’s last -day working as usual. The loading went well and we finished four more -trucks. Another convoy would be ready to take off in the morning. - -George had his own jeep and driver and could make better time than -the convoy, so after early breakfast we went down to Colonel Davitt’s -office. George explained the change in his own plans and said that I -would be taking over at the mine. Then he thanked the colonel for his -co-operation. It was a long speech for George. - -When he had finished, Colonel Davitt said, “In all the time you’ve been -here, you haven’t made a single unreasonable demand. If Lieutenant Howe -can come anywhere near that record, we’ll get along all right.” - -Compliments embarrassed George, so he said good-by as quickly as possible -and climbed into his jeep. He wished me luck and drove off. I waited -for Lamont to come down with the convoy and give me a lift back up the -mountain. - - - - -(7) - -_THE ROTHSCHILD JEWELS; THE GÖRING COLLECTION_ - - -We had our share of troubles during those last ten days at Alt Aussee. -They began that first day of my investiture as head of the team. Lamont -and I were sorting pictures in the room at the mine entrance. It was -early in the afternoon and we were about to start loading our third -truck. I had just said to Lamont that I thought the morning’s convoy had -probably passed Salzburg, when a jeep pulled up to the door. The driver -called out to us that one of our trucks had broken down at Goisern. That -was an hour’s drive from the mine. Why hadn’t we been notified earlier? I -asked. He didn’t know. Perhaps there hadn’t been anybody around to bring -back word. Maybe the driver had thought he could repair the truck. - -We got hold of Steve and the three of us started for Goisern in the -messenger’s jeep. We’d have to transfer the load, so an empty truck -followed us. We were thankful that the breakdown hadn’t happened while -the convoy was going over the Pötschen Pass. It would have been a tough -job to shift the pictures from one truck to another on that steep and -dangerous part of the road. It was bad enough as it was, because it -looked as though we’d have rain. One of the trucks had a lot of very -large pictures. We hoped that it wasn’t the one that had broken down. - -It was a little after three when we reached Goisern. The truck had been -parked by the headquarters of a small detachment of troops on the edge -of town. There were several houses near by but plenty of room for us to -maneuver the empty truck alongside. The Negro driver of the stranded -truck said that it had “thrown a rod” and would have to be taken to -Ordnance for repairs. That meant that the vehicle would be laid up for -two or three weeks. We’d have to see about a replacement. The main thing -was to get on with the unloading before it began to rain. And it _was_ -the truck with the big pictures. - -With the two trucks lined up alongside, and only a few inches apart, we -could hoist the pictures over the sideboards. In this way each row of -paintings was kept in the same order. Lamont and Steve boarded the empty -truck, while one of the gnomes from the mine and I started unlashing the -first stack of loaded pictures. Before long a crowd of women and children -had collected to watch this unusual operation. There were excited “oh’s” -and “ah’s” as we began to transfer one masterpiece after another—two -large Van Dycks, a Veronese, a pair of colossal decorative canvases -by Hubert Robert, a Rubens, and so on. The spectators were quiet and -well behaved, whispering among themselves. They didn’t pester us with -questions. We rather enjoyed having an audience. We finished the job in -an hour and a half. - -It wasn’t too soon, for as we were securing the tarpaulin at the rear of -the newly loaded truck, it began to pour. We parked the truck, arranged -for an overnight guard, then climbed into our jeep and started back to -the mine. In a few minutes the rain turned to hail. The stones were so -large that we were afraid they’d break the windshield of the jeep. We -pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the storm to let up. -While we waited, the gnome told us that sometimes the hailstones were -large enough to kill sheep grazing in the high meadows. Only the summer -before he had lost two of his own lambs during one of the heavy summer -storms. He swore that the stones were the size of tennis balls. - -We were thoroughly soaked and half frozen when we got back to the mine. -But we had won our race with the weather, and the truck would proceed to -Munich with the next convoy. - -During the next three days we were beset by a series of minor -difficulties. Two of the trucks broke down on the way up to the mine to -be loaded. It took half a day to get replacements, so the convoy was -delayed. One night the guard on duty at the mine entrance developed an -unwarranted interest in art and poked around among the pictures which -Lamont and I had carefully stacked according to size for loading the next -morning. No harm was done, but it caused a delay. He was under strict -orders to let no one into the temporary storage room and was not to go -in there himself. It was partly our fault; we shouldn’t have trusted -him with the key. The captain of the guard was notified and appropriate -disciplinary action taken. The gnomes developed a tendency to prolong -their regular rest periods beyond a point Steve considered reasonable, -and we had to come to an understanding about that. On the whole, however, -the work went fairly well. - -Even the great chambers of the Kammergrafen were beginning to thin out. -They were far from empty, but we had cleared them of a substantial part -of the external loot, that is, the loot which had come from countries -outside Germany. There were still quantities of things taken from -Austrian collections, but they had not been our primary concern. The time -had come to make a final check, to make sure that we had not overlooked -anything important in the category of external loot. - -Together with Sieber, we started this last inspection. We checked off the -pictures first. Our work there had been pretty thorough. After that the -sculpture. This also seemed to be well weeded out. And the furniture too. - -Sieber was ahead of us with his flashlight. The light fell on two cartons -standing in a dark corner behind a group of Renaissance bronzes. I -asked what was in them. Sieber shrugged his shoulders. They had never -been opened. He had forgotten that they were there. We dragged them out -and looked for an identifying label. Sieber recalled that one of the -former custodians at the mine had said the things inside were “_sehr -wertvoll_”—very valuable, but he knew nothing more. - -We carried the boxes to a table where there was better light. They were -the same size, square, and about two feet high. They were not heavy. We -pried open the lid of one of them with great care. It might be Roman -glass, and that stuff breaks almost when you look at it. But it wasn’t -Roman glass. Inside was a row of small cardboard boxes. I lifted the lid -and removed a layer of cotton. On the cotton beneath lay a magnificent -golden pendant studded with rubies, emeralds and pearls. The central -motif, a mermaid exquisitely modeled and wrought in iridescent enamel, -proclaimed the piece the work of an Italian goldsmith of the Renaissance. -The surrounding framework of intricate scrolls, shells and columns blazed -with jewels. - -There were forty boxes filled with jewels—necklaces, pendants and -brooches—all of equal splendor. The collection was worth a fortune. Each -piece bore a minute tag on which appeared an identifying letter and a -number. These were Rothschild jewels. And we had stumbled on them quite -by accident. - -Lamont and I agreed that they should be taken to Munich without delay. -There they could be stored in a vault. Furthermore we decided to deliver -them ourselves. It wouldn’t do to risk such precious objects with the -regular convoy. We admonished Sieber to say nothing about our find. In -the meantime we would keep the two boxes under lock and key in our room. - -That night we told Steve we had a special surprise for him. After barring -the door against unexpected visitors, we emptied the boxes onto one -of the beds. We told him not to look until we were ready. We arranged -each piece with the greatest care, straightening out the links of the -necklaces, adjusting the great baroque pearls of the pendants, balancing -one piece with another, until the whole glittering collection was spread -out on the white counterpane. Then we signaled to Steve to turn around. - -“God Almighty, where did you find those?” he asked. - -While we were telling him how we had happened onto the two cartons that -afternoon, he kept shaking his head, and when we had finished, said -solemnly, “They’re beyond my apprehension.” The expression stuck and from -that time on we invoked it whenever we were confronted with an unexpected -problem. - -Early the following morning we stowed the jewels in the back seat of our -command car and set out for Munich. Halfway to Salzburg we encountered -Captain Posey, headed in the opposite direction. He was surprised to -see us, and still more surprised when we told him what we had in the -car. He was on his way to the mine. There were some things he wanted to -tell us about our next job—at Berchtesgaden—but if we would come to his -office the next day that would be time enough. He wasn’t going to stay -at the mine more than a couple of hours. He should be back in Munich -before midnight. He said there was one thing we could do when we reached -Salzburg—call on the Property Control Officer and arrange for clearance -on the removal of the Vienna Museum pictures to the Munich depot. This -was an important part of the plan which George had outlined, so we said -that we’d see what we could do. - -We had some difficulty finding the right office. There were two Military -Government Detachments in Salzburg—one for the city, and the other -for the region. They were on opposite sides of the river. We caught -Lieutenant Colonel Homer K. Heller, the Property Control Officer, as -he was leaving for lunch. I explained that it was our intention to -call for the paintings and tapestries on our way to Berchtesgaden the -following week. He said he could not authorize the removal; that we would -have to see Colonel W. B. Featherstone at the headquarters across the -river. If the colonel gave his O.K., it would be all right with him. He -didn’t think that the colonel would take kindly to the idea. This was a -surprise. Who would have the temerity to question the authority of Third -Army? Lamont was amused. He told me I could have the pleasure of tackling -Colonel Featherstone alone. - -It was after two o’clock before the colonel was free. Nothing doing on -the Vienna pictures. That would require an O.K. from Verona. Why Verona, -I asked? “General Clark’s headquarters,” was the answer. Didn’t I know -that the Fifth Army was taking over the area very shortly? Then the -colonel, in accents tinged with sarcasm, expressed his satisfaction at -finally meeting one of the Monuments officers of the Third Army. He had -heard such a lot about them and the wide territory they had covered. He -had been told that a group of them was working at the Alt Aussee mine, -but I was the first one he had laid eyes on. - -I gathered that he was mildly nettled by Third Army in general and by -me in particular. As a matter of fact, the colonel’s attitude about -the Vienna pictures was logical: why move them out of Austria? If, as -he supposed, they were to be returned to Vienna eventually, why take -them all the way to Munich? I had no answer to that and took refuge in -the old “I only work here” excuse. He found it rather droll that the -Navy should be mixed up in this high-class van and storage business. I -had too, once, but the novelty had worn off. I rejoined Lamont and the -jewels. I wondered what Captain Posey would have to say to all this. - -We reached Munich too late that afternoon to see Craig at the depot, so -we took the jewels with us to his quarters. I had not seen him since my -departure for Alt Aussee some weeks before. In the interim, there had -been a tightening up on billeting facilities. As a result he and Ham -Coulter were now sharing a single apartment. I was the only one adversely -affected by this arrangement. Craig no longer had a spare couch for -chance guests. - -When Lamont and I walked in, we found them talking with a newly arrived -naval lieutenant. He was Lane Faison, who had been around Harvard in -my day. In recent years he had been teaching at Williams and was at -present in OSS. After we had been there a little while, Lamont asked very -casually, “Would you boys care to see the Rothschild jewels?” - -Ham wanted to know what the hell he was talking about. “Well, we have two -boxes filled with them here in the hall,” Lamont said. - -For the second time we displayed the treasures. Craig’s enthusiasm was -tempered with concern for their safety. He was relieved when we said we -had come purposely to put them in one of the steel vaults at the depot. -We went with him to the Königsplatz forthwith and stowed them safely for -the night. - -Lamont and I continued on our way to Third Army Headquarters. Lincoln was -working late. When we walked in he looked up from his typewriter and said -“Hello” in a flat voice. Lincoln was in one of his uncommunicative moods. -We left him alone and busied ourselves with letters from home which -we found on Posey’s desk. Lincoln went on with his typing. Presently -he stopped and said, “George’s orders came through. He’s gone to the -Pacific.” - -“It ought to be interesting work,” said Lamont. - -“Oh, you knew about his orders?” asked Lincoln. - -“No,” said Lamont. - -That broke the mood. We had a lively session for the next hour. Lincoln -was always a reservoir of information, a lot of it in the realm of rumor, -but all of it fascinating. That evening he was unusually full of news. He -had a perfect audience in Lamont and me because we had been completely -out of touch with things while at the mine. - -After exhausting his stock of fact and fiction, he produced his latest -box of food from home. There were brandied peaches, tins of lobster and -caviar, several kinds of cheese, dried fruits and crackers. It was a -combination you’d never risk at home, if you were in your right mind. - -“You do very well for yourself,” I said when he had the refreshments -spread out on his desk. - -“My wife knows the enlisted men’s motto: ‘Nothing is too good for our -boys, and nothing is what they get.’” - -We finished the box and Lincoln showed us an article he had written on -Nazi sculpture. We were reading it when Captain Posey came in. He asked -if we had stopped in Salzburg to see Colonel Heller. I told him what had -happened there. If he was annoyed, he gave no sign of it. He rummaged -in his desk and brought out a list of instructions for us in connection -with the operation at Berchtesgaden. He suggested that we stop there on -the way back to Alt Aussee; it wouldn’t be very much out of our way. He -gave us the names of the officers we should see about billeting, and -so on. It would be well to have all these things settled in advance. -Then he gave us some special orders for Lieutenant Shrady, who was to be -transferred to Heidelberg, now that the evacuation of the mine was ending. - -Captain Posey said that I was to take over the Mercedes-Benz. It had been -obtained originally for the evacuation team. We were to take it with -us to Berchtesgaden. I could make good use of the car, transportation -facilities being what they were, but I didn’t relish the prospect of -taking it from Shrady. He had spent money of his own fixing it up and -looked on it as his personal property. I told Captain Posey how I felt. -He said he had a letter for me which would take care of the matter. It -was a letter directing me to deliver Lieutenant Shrady’s orders and to -appropriate the car. - -When we saw Faison at the depot the next morning, he asked if he might -drive back with us. He was joining Plaut and Rousseau at House 71 to -work with them on the investigation of Nazi art looting. I said we’d be -glad to have him. The three of us started off after early lunch. We were -looking forward to the Berchtesgaden detour. None of us had been there -during the Nazi regime and I, for one, was curious to see what changes -had taken place in the picturesque resort town since I had last seen it -fifteen years before. - -We took the Salzburg Autobahn past Chiemsee almost to Traunstein, and -then turned off to the southwest. This was the finest secondary road I -ever traveled. It led into the mountains and the scenery was worthy of -Switzerland. Thanks to perfectly banked turns, we made the ninety-mile -run in two hours. - -The little town was as peaceful and quiet as I remembered it. In fact it -was so quiet that Lamont and I had difficulty locating an Army outfit to -give us directions. We learned that the 44th AAA Brigade had just moved -in and that the last remnants of the famous 101st Airborne Division were -pulling out. There was no love lost between the two, as we found out -later. Consequently, when I asked an officer of the AAA Brigade where I -would find Major Anderson of the 101st Airborne, he informed me curtly -that that outfit was no longer at Berchtesgaden. Then I asked if he -knew where the Göring collection was. He didn’t seem to know what I was -talking about, so I rephrased my question, inquiring about the captured -pictures which had been on exhibition a short time ago. Yes, he knew -vaguely that there had been some kind of a show. He thought it had been -over in Unterstein, not in Berchtesgaden. Well, where was Unterstein? -He said it was about four kilometers to the south, on the road to the -Königssee. - -His directions weren’t too explicit, but eventually we found the little -back road which landed us in Unterstein ten minutes later. In a clearing -on the left side of the road stood the building we were looking for. -It was a low rambling structure of whitewashed stucco in the familiar -Bavarian farmhouse style. It had been a rest house for the Luftwaffe. -The center section, three stories high, had a gabled roof with widely -overhanging eaves. On either side were long wings two stories high, -similarly roofed. The casement windows were shuttered throughout. - -We found Major Harry Anderson on the entrance steps. He was a husky -fellow with red hair and a shy, boyish manner. He was not altogether -surprised to see us because George had stopped by on his last trip to -Munich and told him we’d be arriving before long. How soon could we start -to work on the collection? In four or five days’ time, we thought. Could -he make some preliminary arrangements for us? We would need billets for -three officers, that is, the two of us—and Lieutenant Kovalyak. No, there -would be four, we had forgotten to include the Negro lieutenant in -charge of the truck drivers. Then there would be twenty drivers. Could -we say definitely what day we’d arrive? Lamont and I made some rapid -calculations. It was a Tuesday. How about Friday evening? That was fine. -The sooner the better as far as the major was concerned. He was slated to -pull out the minute the job was done, so we couldn’t start too soon to -suit him. - -He asked if we’d care to take a preliminary look around but we declined. -It was getting late and we still had a hard three-hour drive ahead of us. -As we turned to go, Jim Plaut and Ted Rousseau came out of the building. -They had been expecting Faison but were surprised to find him with us. -Wouldn’t we all have dinner with them that night at House 71? They had -come over from Bad Aussee that afternoon, bringing Hofer with them. They -had been quizzing him about certain pictures in the collection and he had -wanted to refresh his memory by having a look at them. They pointed to -a stocky German dressed in gray tweeds who stood a little distance away -talking with a tall, angular woman. We recognized him as the man we had -seen pacing the garden at House 71 weeks before—the evening Lamont and I -first reported to George at the mine. That was his wife, they said. Would -we mind taking Hofer back with us? If we could manage that, they’d take -Faison with them. There were some urgent matters they’d like to talk over -with him in connection with their work. We agreed and Ted brought Hofer -to the car. - -As we left he called out, “Wiederschauen, liebe Mutti,” and kept waving -and throwing kisses to his tall wife. I was struck by the stoical -expression on her face. She watched us go but made no effort to return -his salutations. I wondered if she gave a damn. - -Hofer was a loquacious passenger. All the way to Bad Aussee he kept up a -line of incessant chatter, half in English, half in German, on all sorts -of subjects. He gesticulated constantly with both hands, notwithstanding -the fact that one of them was heavily bandaged. He explained that he had -scalded it. The bandage had been smeared with evil-smelling ointment -which had soaked through. As he gestured the air was filled with a -disagreeable odor of medication. Did we know Salzburg? Ah, such a lovely -city, so musical! Did we know Stokowski? He knew him well. “Then you’ll -probably be interested to know that he has just married one of the -Vanderbilt heiresses, a girl of nineteen,” I said. But I must be joking. -Was it really so? - -I was getting bored with this chatterbox when he suddenly began to talk -about Göring and his pictures. We asked him the obvious question: What -did Göring really like when it came to paintings? Well, he was fond of -Cranach. Yes, we knew that. And Rubens; he had greatly admired Rubens. -And many of the Dutch masters of the seventeenth century. But according -to Hofer it was he who had directed the Reichsmarschall’s taste. Then, -to my surprise, he mentioned Vermeer. Did we know about the Vermeer -which Göring had bought? After that he went into a lengthy account of -the purchase, leading up to it with an involved story of the secrecy -surrounding the transaction, which had many confusing details. When we -pulled up before House 71, Hofer was still going strong. Lamont and I -were worn out. - -Shrady departed the following morning in compliance with the orders I had -brought him. He left the Mercedes-Benz behind. If I could have foreseen -the trouble that car was going to cause us, nothing could have tempted me -to add it to our equipment. Even then Lamont eyed it with suspicion, but -we were both talked out of our misgivings by Steve, who rubbed his hands -with satisfaction at the prospect of the éclat it would lend our future -operations. - -With Shrady’s going, we fell heir to his duties. During our last three -days at the mine they complicated our lives considerably. There were -records to be put in order, reports to be finished, pay accounts to be -adjusted, ration books to be extended for the skeleton crew which would -remain at the mine. In addition, I had to see Colonel Davitt about -the reduction and reorganization of the guard, and make provision for -different billeting and messing facilities. - -In the midst of these preparations, Ted Rousseau telephoned from House -71. Were we planning to take Kress, the photographer, with us to -Berchtesgaden? We certainly were. Steve would sooner have parted with -his right eye. Well, they wanted to interrogate him before we left. How -long would they need him? A few days. I suggested they start right away. -We’d be needing him too. Steve was wild when he heard about it. I agreed -that it was a nuisance but that we’d have to oblige. The OSS boys came -for Kress that afternoon. Steve watched them, balefully, as they drove -off down the mountain. Then he resumed the work he had been doing on his -big Steyr truck. This was a cumbersome vehicle which he and Kress had -been putting in order. It had belonged originally to the _Einsatzstab -Rosenberg_ and was part of Kress’ photographic unit. He and Steve were -refitting it to serve our purposes in a similar capacity. It was a fine -idea, but so far they hadn’t been able to get it in running order. Steve -had had it painted. When he had nothing better to do, he tinkered with -the dead motor. Next to Kress, the truck was his most prized possession. - -I returned to Shrady’s old office where I found Lamont in conversation -with Dr. Hermann Michel. Michel was a shadowy figure who had been working -at the mine with Sieber and Eder throughout our stay. When Posey and -Lincoln Kirstein had arrived at Alt Aussee in May, he had identified -himself as one of the ringleaders of the Austrian resistance movement and -vociferously claimed the credit of saving the mine. Since then he had -been working in the mine office. Captain Posey had given him permission -to make a routine check of the books and archives stored there. He was -such a talkative fellow that we kept out of his way as much as possible. -And we didn’t like his habit of praising himself at the expense of -others. He was forever running to Plaut and Rousseau at House 71 with -written and oral reports, warning them to beware of this or that man in -the mine organization. - -Lamont looked decidedly harassed when I walked in. Michel was protesting -our demands for a complete set of the records. We were to leave them -in Colonel Davitt’s care when we closed the mine. Michel had taken the -opportunity to say a few unpleasant things about Sieber. We finally made -it clear to him that there would be no nonsense about the records, and -also that what we did about Sieber was our business. We finally packed -him off still protesting and shaking his head. - -The afternoon before our departure Lamont and I had to go over to St. -Agatha. The little village lay in the valley on the other side of the -Pötschen Pass. We were to verify the report that a small but important -group of paintings was stored in an old inn there. A fine Hubert Robert -_Landscape_, given to Hitler by Mussolini, was said to be among them. - -We went first to the Bürgermeister who had the key. He drove with us to -the inn. It was an attractive Gasthaus, built in the early eighteenth -century. The walls were frescoed and a wrought-iron sign hung over the -doorway. When we arrived the proprietress was washing clothes in the -arched passageway through the center of the building. - -She took us to a large corner room on the second floor. There were some -fifty pictures, all of them enormous and unframed. The Bürgermeister -helped us shift the unwieldy canvases about, so that we could -properly examine them. They were, for the most part, of indifferent -quality—sentimental landscapes by obscure German painters of the -nineteenth century. - -But we did find five that were fine: the mammoth landscape with classical -ruins by Hubert Robert, the eighteenth century French master—this was -the one Mussolini had given the Führer; an excellent panel by Pannini—it -too a landscape; a Van Dyck portrait; a large figure composition by Jan -Siberechts, the seventeenth century Flemish painter; and a painting by -Ribera, the seventeenth century Spanish artist. We set them aside and -said we’d return for them in a few days. - -We had hoped to leave for Berchtesgaden by midmorning the next day, but -we didn’t get off until three in the afternoon. At the last minute I -received word from Colonel Davitt’s office that the Mercedes-Benz was to -be left at the mine. I said that since we had no escort vehicle, it was -an indispensable part of our convoy. That being the case, the colonel’s -adjutant said we could take the car, but on condition that we return it -within twenty-four hours. I said I’d see what I could do about that. - -Steve fumed while I talked. When I hung up the receiver he said, “Don’t -be a damn fool. Once the car’s out of his area, the colonel hasn’t got a -thing to say about it. Let’s get going.” - -Sieber and Eder, together with a dozen of the gnomes, were waiting in -front of the mine building when we came down the stairs. Lamont was -already in the car. I gave final instructions to the captain of the -guard, said good-bys all around, and got in the car myself. Everybody -smiled and waved as we drove off. - -The evacuation had been a success. Ninety truckloads of paintings, -sculpture and furniture had been removed from the mine during the past -five weeks. Although it was by no means empty, the most important -treasures had been taken out. Third Army was withdrawing from the area. -From now on the mine would be the responsibility of General Clark’s -forces. - -We were a lengthy cavalcade. Lamont and I took the lead. Steve followed -in the Steyr truck, in running order at last. Behind him trailed five -trucks. We were to pick up eight more at Alt Aussee. It wasn’t going -to be easy to keep such a long convoy in line. If we could only stay -together until we got over the pass, the rest of the trip wouldn’t be too -difficult. - -We made it over the pass without mishap. From time to time Lamont looked -back to make sure the trucks were still following. He couldn’t count -them all, they were so strung out and the road was so winding. But we -had instructed the Negro lieutenant to give orders to his men to signal -the truck ahead in case of trouble, so we felt reasonably sure that -everything was in order. When we reached Fuschl See we stopped along the -lake shore to take count. One after another eight trucks pulled up. Five -were missing. Fifteen minutes passed and still no sign of the laggards. -Steve said not to worry, to give them another quarter of an hour. - -The blue waters of the lake were inviting. Schiller might have composed -the opening lines of _Wilhelm Tell_ on this very spot. “Es lächelt der -See, er ladet zum Bade.” Steve and Lamont decided to have a swim. I -dipped my hand in the water; it was icy. While they swam I kept an eye -out for the missing vehicles. Presently two officers drove by in a jeep. -I hailed them and ask if they had seen our trucks. They had—about ten -miles back two trucks had gone off the road. They thought there had -been two or three others at the scene of the accident. Lamont and Steve -dressed quickly. Steve said he’d go on with the eight trucks and meet us -in Salzburg. Then Lamont and I started back toward Bad Ischl. - -We hadn’t gone more than five miles when we came upon three of our -vehicles. We signaled them to pull over to the side of the road. At first -we couldn’t make out what the drivers were saying—all three talked at -once. We finally got the story. A driver had taken a curve too fast and -had lost control of his truck. The one behind had been following too -closely and had also crashed over the side. The first driver had got -pinned under his truck and they had had to amputate a finger before he -could be extricated. The lieutenant in charge had stayed behind to take -care of things. He had told them to try to catch up with the rest of -the convoy. By the time they had given us all the details, we realized -that they had been drinking. And we guessed that alcohol had also -had something to do with the truck going off the road. We would have -something to say to the lieutenant when he reached Berchtesgaden. He was -new on the job, having replaced Lieutenant Barboza only two days ago. We -were thankful that our precious packing materials had been put in two of -the trucks up ahead. - -Steve was waiting for us in the Mozart Platz when we reached Salzburg an -hour and a half later with our three trucks in tow. He told the drivers -where they could get chow. The three of us went across the river to the -Gablerbräu, the small hotel for transients, for our own supper. The -Berchtesgaden operation hadn’t begun auspiciously. - -Our troubles weren’t over. When we pulled into Berchtesgaden at eight -o’clock, we couldn’t find Major Anderson, so we had to fend for -ourselves. We managed to put the drivers up for the one night in a -barracks by the railway station before going on to Unterstein ourselves. -The lieutenant in charge of the drivers hadn’t turned up when we were -ready to go, so I left word that he was to report to me first thing the -next morning. While we three felt unhappy over the lack of billeting -arrangements for us, we were too tired to think much about it that night. -Bed was all that mattered. The officer on duty at the Unterstein rest -house said there was an empty room over the entrance hall which we could -use until we got permanent quarters. There were three bunks, so we moved -in. - -By contrast, everything started off beautifully the following morning. -Major Anderson appeared as we were finishing breakfast. - -His apologies were profuse and he did everything he could to make -amends. We declined his offer to obtain rooms for us at the elegant -Berchtesgadener Hof in town. We wanted to be on the spot. There was -plenty of room in the rest house where we would be working; and we could -mess with the half-dozen officers billeted in the adjacent barracks. The -major introduced us to Edward Peck, the sergeant, who had been working on -an inventory of the collection. - -Together we made a tour of the premises. The paintings alone filled forty -rooms. Four rooms and a wide corridor at the end of the ground-floor -hall were jammed with sculpture. Still another room was piled high with -tapestries. Rugs filled two rooms adjoining the one with the tapestries. -Two more rooms were given over to empty frames, hundreds of them. There -was the “Gold Room” where the objects of great intrinsic value were -kept under lock and key. And there were three more rooms crammed with -barrels, boxes and trunks full of porcelain. One very large room was a -sea of books and magazines, eleven thousand altogether. A small chapel on -the premises was overflowing with fine Italian Renaissance furniture. - -The preliminary survey was discouraging. Although the objects were -infinitely more accessible than those at the mine had been, this -advantage was largely offset by the fact that they were all loose and -would have to be packed individually. Even the porcelain in barrels would -have to be repacked. - -Our first request was for a work party of twelve men—GIs, not PWs. -We suggested to the young C.O., Major Paul Miller, that he call for -volunteers. If possible, we wanted men who might prefer this kind of job -to guard duty or other routine work. They could start in on the books -while we mapped out our plan of attack on the rest of the things. Steve -went off with Major Miller to select the crew, and Lamont and I settled -down to discuss other problems with Major Anderson and Sergeant Peck. - -It was the sergeant’s idea that the collection could be packed up one -room at a time. He had compiled his inventory with that thought in mind. -Unfortunately we couldn’t carry out the evacuation in that order. We -explained why his system wouldn’t work: paintings, for example, had to -be arranged according to size. Otherwise we couldn’t build loads that -would travel safely. Even if we could have packed the pictures as he -suggested—one room at a time—it would have meant the loss of valuable -truck space. We assured him that, in the long run, our plan was the -practical one. It did, however, involve considerable preliminary work. -The first job would be to assemble all of the pictures—and there were a -thousand of them—in a series of rooms on one floor of the building. As -the sergeant had not quite finished his lists, we agreed to devote our -energies to the books for the rest of the day. By morning he would have -his inventory completed. Then the pictures could be shifted. - -Lamont and I wanted to know more about the collection. How did it get to -Berchtesgaden in the first place? Major Anderson was the man who could -answer our questions. - -As the war ended, the French reached the town ahead of the Americans. -They had it to themselves for about three days and had raised hell -generally. Göring’s special train bearing the collection had reached -Berchtesgaden just ahead of the French. The collection, having been -removed from the Reichsmarschall’s place, Karinhall, outside Berlin, -was to have been stored in an enormous bunker by his hunting lodge up -the road. But there hadn’t been time. The men in charge of the train -got only a part of the things unloaded. Some of them were put in the -bunker, others in a villa near by. Most of the collection was left in the -nine cars of the train. The men had been more interested in unloading a -stock of champagne and whisky which had been brought along in two of the -compartments. - -When the French entered the town, the train was standing on a siding not -far from the bunker. They may have made off with a few of the things, but -there were no apparent depredations. They peppered it along one side with -machine-gun fire. However, the damage had been relatively slight. - -Then the French had cleared out and the train was, so to speak, dumped in -Major Anderson’s lap, since he was the Military Government Officer with -the 101st Airborne Division. Under his supervision, the collection had -been transferred from the train, from the bunker and from the villa, to -the rest house. Later he had been instrumental in having it set up as an -exhibition. The exhibition had been a great success—perhaps too great a -success. He meant that it had attracted so much attention that some of -the higher-ups began to worry about the security of the things. Finally -he had received orders that the show was to close and of course he had -complied at once. - -He said that General Arnold had come to see the exhibition the day after -that. We asked if he had let him in. Well, what did we think? But he had -turned down a three-star general who had come along after hearing that -General Arnold had been admitted. The general, he said, was hopping mad. - -The major’s most interesting experience in connection with the -collection was his visit with Frau Göring. He heard that some of the -best pictures were in her possession, so he took a run down to Zell am -See where she was staying in a Schloss belonging to a South American. -He found the castle; he found Emmy; and he found the pictures. There -were indeed some of the best pictures—fifteen priceless gems of the -fifteenth century Flemish school, from the celebrated Renders collection -of Brussels. Göring had bought the entire collection of about thirty -paintings. We knew that M. Renders was already pressing for the return -of his treasures, claiming that he had been forced to sell them to the -Reichsmarschall. But that was another story. - -Frau Göring wept bitterly when the major took the pictures, protesting -that they were her personal property and not that of her husband. On the -same visit he had recovered another painting in the collection. Frau -Göring’s nurse handed over a canvas measuring about thirty inches square. -She said Göring had given it to her the last time she saw him. As he -placed the package in her hands he had said, “Guard this carefully. It is -of great value. If you should ever be in need, you can sell it, and you -will not want for anything the rest of your life.” The package contained -Göring’s Vermeer. - -Major Anderson stayed for lunch. As we walked back from the mess, a -command car pulled up in front of the rest house. Bancel La Farge and a -man in civilian clothes climbed out. I hadn’t seen Bancel for two months. -He was a major now. The civilian with him was an old friend of mine, John -Walker, Chief Curator of the National Gallery at Washington and a special -adviser to the Roberts Commission. John had flown over to make a brief -inspection tour of MFA&A activities. Bancel was serving as his guide. -They were on their way to Salzburg and Alt Aussee. - -Major Anderson proposed a trip to the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s mountain -hide-out, suggesting that the visitors could look at the Göring pictures -that evening. Lamont and I said we had work to do, but we were easily -talked out of that. - -You could see the Eagle’s Nest from the rest house. It was perched on top -of the highest peak of the great mountain range which rose sharply from -the pine forests across the valley. We crossed to the western side and -began a steep ascent. About a thousand feet above the floor of the valley -we came to Obersalzberg, once a select community of houses belonging -to the most exalted members of the Nazi hierarchy. In addition to the -Berghof, Hitler’s massive chalet, it included a luxurious hotel—the -Platter Hof—SS barracks, and week-end “cottages” for Göring and Martin -Bormann. The British bombed Obersalzberg in April 1945. The place was now -in ruins. The Berghof was still standing but gutted by fire and stripped -of all removable ornamentation by souvenir hunters. - -We continued up the winding road carved from the solid rock, through -three tunnels, at length emerging onto a terraced turnaround, around, -five thousand feet above Berchtesgaden. The major told us that the road -had been built by slave labor. Three thousand men had worked on it for -almost three years. - -[Illustration: _Portrait of a Young Girl_ by Chardin (_left_) and _Young -Girl with Chinese Figure_ by Fragonard (_right_) were acquired by Göring -from the confiscated Rothschild Collection of Paris. The paintings have -been returned to France.] - -[Illustration: _Christ and the Adulteress_, the fraudulent Vermeer, for -which Göring exchanged 137 paintings of unquestioned authenticity.] - -[Illustration: _Portrait of the Artist’s Sister_ by Rembrandt. One of the -five Rembrandts in the Göring Collection.] - -The Eagle’s Nest was still four hundred feet above. From the turnaround -there were two means of access: an elevator and a footpath. The elevator -shaft, hewn out of the mountain itself, was another feat of engineering -skill. A broad archway of carved stone marked the entrance. Beside the -elevator stood a sign which read, “For Field Grade Officers Only”—that -is, majors and above. - -“A sentiment worthy of the builder,” Lamont observed as we took to the -footpath. - -On our steep climb we wondered what Steve would say to such -discrimination. We hadn’t long to wait. He made a trip to the Eagle’s -Nest a few days later. When stopped by the guard, he looked at him -defiantly and asked, “What do you take me for, a Nazi?” Steve rode up in -the elevator. - -The Eagle’s Nest was devoid of architectural distinction. Built of cut -stone, it resembled a small fort, two stories high. From the huge, -octagonal room on the second floor—a room forty feet across, with windows -on five sides—one could look eastward into Austria, southward to Italy. A -mile below lay the green valleys and blue lakes of Bavaria. They used to -say that every time Hitler opened a window a cloud blew in. The severity -of the furnishings matched the bleakness of the exterior. An enormous -conference table occupied the center of the room. Before the stone -fireplace stood a mammoth sofa and two chairs. A smaller room adjoined -the main octagon at a lower level. The heavy carpet was frayed along one -side. The caretaker, pointing to the damage, said that in his frequent -frenzies Hitler used to gnaw the carpet, a habit which had earned him -the nickname of “_Der Teppich-Beisser_,” the rug-biter. Considering the -labor expended on this mountain eyrie, the place had been little used. -The same caretaker told us that Hitler had never stayed there overnight. -Daytime conferences had been held there occasionally, but that was all. - -It was late when we got back to the rest house, so our guests postponed -their inspection of the Göring collection until the following morning. -That evening Lamont and I made a second and more thorough survey of the -rooms in which the paintings were stacked. We began with a room which -contained works of the Dutch, Flemish, German and French schools. The -inventory listed five Rembrandt portraits. One was the _Artist’s Sister_; -another was his son _Titus_; the third was his wife, _Saskia_; the fourth -was the portrait of a _Bearded Old Man_; and the fifth was the likeness -of a _Man with a Turban_. - -We examined the backs of the pictures for markings which might give us -clues to previous ownership. Two of the portraits—those of Saskia and of -the artist’s sister—had belonged to Katz, one of the best known Dutch -dealers. I had been surprised to learn in Paris that Katz, a Jew, had -done business with the Nazis. But I was also told that only through -acceding to their demands for pictures had he been able to obtain permits -for his relatives to leave Holland. According to the information I -received, he had succeeded thereby in smuggling twenty-seven members of -his family into Switzerland. A revealing commentary on the extent and -quality of his paintings. - -The portrait of Titus had been in the Van Pannwitz collection. Mme. -Catalina van Pannwitz, South American born, but a resident of the -Netherlands, I believe, had sold a large part of her collection to -Göring. Whether it had been a bona fide or a forced sale was said to be a -moot question. - -Another important Dutch private collection, that of Ten Cate at Almelo, -had “contributed” the _Man with a Turban_. And the _Bearded Old Man_ had -been bought from the Swiss dealer, Wendland, who had agents in Paris. He -had allegedly discovered the painting in Marseilles. - -These five pictures posed an interesting problem in restitution. To whom -should they be returned? Who were the rightful owners—as of the summer of -1945? - -At the time we were beginning our work on the Göring collection, definite -plans for the restitution of works of art were being formulated by the -American Military Government. They were an important part of the general -restitution program then being planned by the Reparations, Deliveries -and Restitution Division of the U. S. Group Control Council. Pending the -implementation of the program, the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives -Section of U. S. Forces, European Theater, was the technical custodian of -all art works eventually to be restituted. - -Bancel La Farge, who became Chief of the Section when SHAEF dissolved, -had outlined the plans to us on our way back from the Eagle’s Nest -that afternoon. There were two main categories of works of art slated -for prompt restitution to the overrun countries from which they had -been taken. The first included all art objects _easily identifiable as -loot_—the great Jewish collections and the property of other “enemies -of the state” which had been seized by the Nazis. The second embraced -all art works _not_ readily identifiable as loot, but for which some -compensation was known or believed to have been paid by the Nazis. - -The actual restitution was to be made on a wholesale scale. Works -of art were to be returned _en bloc_ to the claimant nations, _not_ -to individual claimants of those nations. To expedite this “mass -evacuation” country by country, properly qualified art representatives -would be invited to the American Occupied Zone, specifically to the -Central Collecting Point at Munich, where they could present their -claims. Once their claims were substantiated—either by documents in their -possession or by records at the Collecting Point—the representatives -would be responsible for the actual removal. - -We asked Bancel how the various representatives were to be selected. -He explained that several of the overrun countries had set up special -Fine Arts Commissions. The one in France was called the _Commission de -Récupération Artistique_. The one in Holland had an unpronounceable -name, so it was known simply as “C.G.R.”—the initials stood for the name -translated into French, _Commission de Récupération Générale_. And the -one in Belgium had such a long name that he couldn’t remember it offhand. -Czechoslovakia, Poland and Greece would probably establish similar -committees before long. Each commission would choose a representative -and submit his name to the MFA&A Section for approval. Once the names -were approved and the necessary military clearances obtained, the -representatives could enter the American Zone, proceed to Munich and -start to work. - -Bancel said that each representative would have to sign a receipt in -the name of his country before he could remove any works of art from -the Collecting Point. The receipt would release our government from all -further responsibility for the objects concerned—as of the time they left -the Collecting Point. Furthermore, it would contain a clause binding the -receiving nation to rectify any mistakes in restitution. For example, if -the Dutch representative inadvertently included a painting which later -turned out to be the property of a Belgian, then, by the provisions of -the receipt, Holland would be obligated to return that painting to -Belgium. The chief merit of this system of fine arts restitution lay -in the fact that it relieved American personnel of the heavy burden of -settling individual claims. From the point of view of our government, -this was an extremely important consideration because of the limited -number of men available for so formidable an undertaking. And from the -point of view of the receiving nations, the system had the advantage of -accelerating the recovery of their looted treasures. - -In the room where Lamont and I had seen the Rembrandts, we found a pair -of panels by Boucher, the great French master of the eighteenth century. -Each represented an ardent youth making amorous advances to a coy and -but half-protesting maiden in a rustic setting. They were appropriately -entitled _Seduction_ and were said to have been painted for the boudoir -of Madame de Pompadour. According to the inventory, the panels had been -bought from Wendland, the dealer of Paris and Lucerne. - -These slightly prurient canvases flanked one of the most beautiful -fifteenth century Flemish paintings I had ever seen, _The Mystic Marriage -of St. Catherine_ by Gerard David. The Madonna with the Child on her lap -was portrayed against a landscape background, St. Catherine kneeling at -her right, dressed in russet velvet. Round about were grouped five other -female saints, each richly gowned in a different color. It was not a -large composition, measuring only about twenty-five inches square, but -it possessed the dignity and monumentality of a great altarpiece. The -authenticity of its sentiment put to shame the facile virtuosity of the -two Bouchers which stood on either side. - -The second room we visited that evening contained an equally -miscellaneous assortment of pictures. Here the canvases were even more -varied in size. A _Dutch Interior_ by Pieter de Hooch, a _View of the -Piazza San Marco_ by Canaletto, and two Courbet landscapes were lined -up along one wall. The de Hooch, an exceptionally fine example of the -work of this seventeenth century master, was listed in the inventory as -having belonged to Baron Édouard de Rothschild of Paris. The Courbets -were something of a rarity, as Göring had few French paintings of the -nineteenth century. One of the landscapes, a winter scene, was an -important work, signed and dated 1869. The inventory did not indicate -from whom it had been acquired. In one corner stood a full-length -portrait of the Duke of Richmond by Van Dyck. Our list stated that it -had come from the Katz collection. Beside it was a brilliant landscape -by Rubens. There were perhaps ten other pictures in the room, among them -several nondescript panels which appeared to be by an artist of the -fifteenth century Florentine school, a portrait by the sixteenth century -German master, Bernhard Strigel, a “fête champêtre” by Lancret, and two -or three seascapes of the seventeenth century Dutch school. - -Lamont and I had been looking at this assemblage for some little time -before we noticed an unframed canvas standing on the washbasin by the -window. The upper edge of the picture leaned against the wall mirror at -an angle which made it difficult to get a good look at the composition -from where we stood. Closer inspection revealed the subject to be _Christ -and the Woman Taken in Adultery_. I studied it for a few minutes and was -still puzzled. Turning to Lamont I asked, “What do you make of this? I -can’t even place it as to school, let alone guess the artist.” - -“Unless I am very much mistaken,” he said slowly, “that is the famous -Göring ‘Vermeer.’” - -“You’re crazy,” I said. “Why, I could paint something which would look -more like a Vermeer than that.” - -We consulted the inventory. Lamont was right. A few lines below the -listing of the Rubens landscape—a picture I had just been admiring in -another part of the room—appeared the entry “Vermeer, Jan ... ‘The -Adulteress’ ... Canvas, 90 cm. × 96 cm.” The subject coincided with that -of the picture on the washbasin. The measurements were identical. - -I tried to visualize the picture properly framed, properly lighted and -hanging in a richly furnished room. But still I couldn’t conceive how -such trappings could blind one to the flat greens and blues, the lack -of subtlety in the modeling of the flesh tones, the absence of that -convincing rendering of the “total visual effect” which Vermeer had so -completely mastered. - -“Who attributed this painting to Vermeer?” I asked. - -“I don’t know,” said Lamont, “but it is related stylistically to the -‘Vermeer,’ in the Boymans Museum at Rotterdam, the _Christ at Emmaus_.” - -So this was the painting Hofer was talking about; this was the painting -Göring had given the nurse. One of the notorious Van Meegeren fakes. - -Lamont’s reference to the Boymans’ “Vermeer” called to mind the great -furor in the art world nearly a decade ago when that picture had turned -up in the art market. - -Dr. Bredius, the famous connoisseur of Dutch painting, discovered the -picture in Paris in 1936. He was convinced that it was a hitherto unknown -work by Vermeer, the rarest of all Dutch masters. The subject matter was -of special interest to Dr. Bredius, for the _only_ other Vermeer which -dealt with a religious theme was the one in the National Gallery at -Edinburgh. - -The past history of the picture was as reassuring as that of many another -accepted “old master.” Dr. Bredius learned that it had belonged to a -Dutch family. One of the daughters had married a Frenchman in the middle -eighties. The picture had been a wedding present and she had taken it -with her to Paris. But their house had been too small for such a large -painting—it was four feet high and nearly square—so the canvas had been -relegated to the attic. According to the story, they hadn’t known that it -was particularly valuable or they might have sold it. In any case, the -picture remained in the attic until the couple died. It had come to light -again when the house was being dismantled. - -Through Dr. Bredius, the Boymans Museum had become interested in the -picture. Other experts were called in. A few questioned it, but the -majority accepted it as a Vermeer. In 1937, the directors of the Boymans -Museum purchased the _Christ at Emmaus_ for the staggering price of three -hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. - -Unknown to the outside world, several more Vermeers were “discovered” -during the war years. All were of religious subjects. One was bought -at a fantastic price by Van Beuningen, the great private collector -of Rotterdam; another by the Nazi-controlled Dutch Government for an -exorbitant sum; and a third by Hermann Göring. Though the Reichsmarschall -did not pay cash for his Vermeer, the price was high; he traded one -hundred and thirty-seven pictures from his collection. According to -Hofer, his adviser and agent, the paintings he gave in exchange were all -of high quality. - -The final chapter in the story of these newly found Vermeers is one of -the most interesting in the annals of the art world. At the close of the -war, Dr. van Gelder, the director of the Mauritshuis—the museum at The -Hague—and other Dutch art authorities began an official investigation. It -was curious that so many lost Vermeers had come to light in such a short -space of time. It was recalled that in 1942 an artist named Van Meegeren -had delivered a million guilders to a Dutch bank for credit to his -account. The money was in thousand-guilder notes, which the Germans had -ordered withdrawn from circulation at that time. The artist was not known -to be a man of means and his mediocre talents as a painter could not have -enabled him to amass such a fortune. - -Van Meegeren was questioned and finally admitted that he had painted -the _Christ at Emmaus_ and the other lately discovered “Vermeers.” Even -after he had made a full confession, there were certain Dutch critics -who doubted the truth of his statements. This nettled Van Meegeren, and -he promptly offered to demonstrate his prowess. His choice of a subject -might have been symbolic: Jesus Confounding the Doctors. It took him -two months to finish the picture. The work was done in the presence of -several witnesses. He painted entirely from memory, using no models. - -In the course of the demonstration, he explained the ingenious methods -he had used to defraud the experts. In the first place his compositions -were original but painted _in the style_ of Vermeer. In the second, he -used old canvas and only the pigments known to the Dutch masters of the -seventeenth century. It had not been difficult to pick up at auctions -old paintings of little value. It was not always necessary to remove the -existing pictures. He frequently adapted portions of them to his own -compositions, or, conversely, rearranged his to take advantage of part of -an old picture. He was scrupulously careful to avoid modern zinc white -and used only lead white which had been employed by the artists of the -seventeenth century. He took equal precautions with his other colors, -using ground lapis lazuli and cochineal for his blues and reds. He had -obtained these, at great expense, from abroad. - -At the time I was evacuating the Göring pictures, the Dutch government -was completing its investigation of Van Meegeren’s activities. -Subsequently, the Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences publicly -announced its findings, confirming the fact that Henrik van Meegeren was -the author of the celebrated picture in the Boymans Museum and also of -“other forgeries done so marvelously that the best art experts pronounced -them genuine.” - -Bancel La Farge and John Walker returned the following morning. Although -it was Sunday, our crew of GIs had reported for work at seven-thirty and, -under Steve’s supervision, continued to pack books. Some eight thousand -volumes remained to be placed in cases before they could be loaded onto -the trucks. While this work was in progress Lamont and I made a tour -of the pictures with our guests. We looked again at the rooms we had -visited the night before, singling out the paintings we thought would be -of greatest interest to them, such as the best of the Dutch and Flemish -masters, the Cranachs, the eighteenth century French pictures and the -finest sculptures. We concluded the tour at noon. Our visitors had to get -started on their way to the mine at Alt Aussee. - -After lunch Lamont joined the crew at work on the books, while I -went in search of Sergeant Peck. We had explained to him that all of -the paintings would have to be numbered before we could prepare them -for loading. The sergeant had agreed, but I was not certain that he -altogether understood why we were so insistent on this point. I found -Peck in his room at the end of the south wing of the rest house. As -usual, he was working on the inventory. He was a serious, scholarly -fellow. Before entering the Army, he had been an art teacher at an -Ohio college, so his present assignment was very much to his liking. -He had done a remarkably fine job on the inventory. It was a detailed -seventy-page document giving the title of each picture, the name of the -artist, the dimensions of the canvas and, where known, the name of the -collection from which it had been acquired. - -I told him that we hoped to get started on the pictures the next morning. -We would arrange them in rooms on the second floor of the center section -of the building. Those rooms were the ones most accessible to the door -leading to our loading platform. We would want him to be responsible for -checking off each picture as it was carried onto the truck. Since there -were more than a thousand paintings in the inventory, there was only one -practical way this checking could be done: by going through all the rooms -and numbering each picture, setting down the corresponding number on the -correct entry in the inventory. - -I asked if he could spare the time to help me with the numbering that -afternoon. He agreed; so, armed with the inventory and some chalk, we -began with the rooms on the second floor. By midafternoon we had finished -marking two hundred pictures. Lamont could start with these the next -forenoon. They would keep him busy until we had numbered an additional -batch. - -At three Steve and I drove over to Brigade Headquarters to make -arrangements for escort vehicles. We expected to have our first convoy -ready to leave for Munich the following afternoon. It was only a -ninety-mile run, Autobahn all the way, so two jeeps would suffice. - -The 44th AAA Brigade was established in General Keitel’s old -headquarters, about two miles northwest of Berchtesgaden. With its -smooth gravel driveways and well-tended lawns, the place had the air -of a luxurious country club. The administrative offices were located -in an L-shaped building, a modern adaptation of the familiar Bavarian -provincial style. The surrounding buildings—barracks and small houses—had -been designed in the same style. - -We were received by Captain Putman, the Chief of Staff’s adjutant, a -brisk young man, who promised to provide us with the necessary escort -vehicles. - -“Cocky fellow, wasn’t he?” said Steve as we left the office. - -“Yes, but I have a feeling we’ll get our jeeps on schedule,” I said. - -My hunch was right. Only once during the entire Berchtesgaden operation -did the escort vehicles fail to report for duty at the appointed hour. -That one time was when Captain Putman had a day off. - -By noon the next day our first convoy of four trucks was ready for the -road. Two of the trucks were filled with books, twenty-seven cases of -them. The other two contained twenty-five cases, but not cases of books: -four were filled with glassware (308 pieces); seven contained porcelain -(1135 pieces); eight contained gold and silver plate (415 pieces); and -the remaining six were packed with rugs. These were from Karinhall, near -Berlin, the largest of Göring’s seven households. - -As soon as we had dispatched the convoy, Lamont and four members of the -work party resumed the sorting and stacking of the numbered paintings. -Sergeant Peck and I, with two helpers to shift the larger canvases, -proceeded with the numbering. Steve took off for Alt Aussee to pick up -Kress, the photographer, and his paraphernalia. - -That night Lamont decided we should improve our quarters. This involved -moving from the room we occupied at the front of the building to a much -larger one at the back. The new room had several advantages which the old -one lacked. It had been the reading room of the rest house in the days of -the Luftwaffe occupancy and was attractively paneled in natural oak with -built-in bookshelves. It was thirty feet long and fifteen wide, nearly -twice the size of our former room, and opened onto a broad porch. There -were French doors and two large windows which afforded a spectacular view -of the mountain range to the east. The Eagle’s Nest crowned the highest -of the peaks. At one end of the room was an alcove, with a built-in desk -and couch. With a little fixing up, it could be turned into a comfortable -sitting room. - -Before we could transfer our belongings to this spacious apartment, we -had to clear out a few of the Reichsmarschall’s—half a dozen pieces of -sculpture and three large altarpieces. The outstanding piece of sculpture -was a life-size statue of the Magdalene which Göring had acquired from -the Louvre. Similarly, the most important of the three altarpieces -was a big triptych which also had come from the Louvre. Göring did -not remove these objects by force. He obtained them by exchange after -prolonged negotiations with the officials of the museum. According to -the information given me, both parties were well pleased with the trade. -As I recall, the Louvre received six objects from the Reichsmarschall’s -collection in return for the triptych and the statue. I was told that -one of the six pieces was a painting by Coypel, the eighteenth century -French artist, which had belonged to one of the Paris Rothschilds. It was -because they were of German workmanship that Göring particularly coveted -the pieces which he obtained from the Louvre. It is presumed that this -did not prejudice the Louvre in their favor. - -The statue, portraying the Magdalene clothed only in her long blonde -tresses, was known as “la belle allemande,” the beautiful German. It -was an exceptionally fine example, in polychromed wood, of the work of -Gregor Erhardt, a Swabian sculptor of the first quarter of the sixteenth -century. I fancied that Göring detected a resemblance between the statue -and his wife. Lamont and I carried the statue down to the first floor of -the rest house and placed it at the foot of the stairs. - -It was one of the last objects we packed for shipment and, during our -stay at Berchtesgaden, I had the uncomfortable feeling that I had caught -Frau Göring on her way to the bath. I was not the only one with that -idea. One evening I found the GI guard draping a raincoat about the -Magdalene’s shoulders. I had given strict orders that the guards were to -touch nothing in the collection, so I stopped to have a word with him on -the subject. He said with a sheepish look, “I didn’t mean to break the -rules, sir, but I thought Emmy looked cold.” - -The altarpiece which Göring acquired from the Louvre was a sumptuous -affair consisting of three panels painted with nearly life-size figures -against a gold background. It was by the Master of the Holy Kinship, an -artist of the Cologne School of the fifteenth century. The large center -panel represented the _Presentation in the Temple_; the right-hand panel, -the _Adoration of the Magi_; the left-hand panel, _Christ Appearing to -Mary_. During its recent peregrinations the central panel had cracked -from top to bottom. But fortunately the cleavage, which ran through the -center of the middle panel, fell in an area devoid of figures. An adroit -restorer could easily repair the damage. We shifted the altarpiece to an -adjoining room. - -The two remaining altarpieces were works of the fifteenth century French -school. One represented the _Crucifixion_; the other, the _Passion of -Christ_. The _Crucifixion_ had belonged to the Paris dealer Seligmann, -whose collection had been confiscated by the Nazis. The inventory did -not show the name of the former owner of the other panel. A highly -imaginative composition with nocturnal illumination, it was attributed to -the rare French master, Jean Bellegambe. As we carried the altarpieces -into the room in which we had placed the one from the Louvre, I remarked -to Lamont that for a godless fellow Göring seemed to have had a nice -taste for religious subjects. The pieces of sculpture, which we added to -the collection in the lower hallway, were also of devotional character: -two Gothic statues of St. George and the Dragon, one of St. Barbara, and -two of the Madonna and Child. - -We brought three large wardrobes from our old room, placed two of them -at right angles to the walls to form a partition, and set the third in a -corner of the new room. The beds came next. In another hour we had the -furniture arranged to our satisfaction. By the time we had added a silver -lamp, borrowed temporarily from the Göring collection, and tacked up a -few of our photographs, the place looked as though we had been living -there for weeks. - -Without Steve the loading went more slowly, but we managed to finish -three trucks by two o’clock the next day. The driver of one of the -escort jeeps had brought us a message from Munich that it would simplify -the work at the Central Collecting Point if we dispatched the trucks -in groups of three or four instead of waiting until we had six loaded. -At the Alt Aussee mine we hadn’t been able to work on such a schedule -because we lacked sufficient escort vehicles. We didn’t have that problem -at Berchtesgaden because the shorter distance made possible a one day -turnaround. The jeeps could easily make the round trip in half a day. -Accordingly, we sent off our second convoy that afternoon. The trucks -contained the rest of the books—forty-three cases in all—sixty-five -paintings and fifteen of the larger pieces of sculpture. - -In anticipation of Kress’ arrival, we spent the next morning assembling -all the paintings that appeared to have suffered recent damage of any -kind. His first job would be to make a photographic record which we -would include in our final report on the evacuation of the collection. -We found thirty-four pictures in this category. Only two had sustained -serious injury. These were the side panels of a large triptych by the -sixteenth century Italian artist, Raffaellino del Garbo. They had been -badly splintered by machine-gun fire while the collection was still -aboard the special train which had brought it to Berchtesgaden. Three -other panels bore the marks of stray bullets, but the harm done was -relatively slight. In general, the damage consisted of minor nicks -and scratches and water spots. Considering the hazards to which the -collection had been exposed, the pictures had come through remarkably -well. I was reminded of what George Stout had said, “There’s a lot of -nonsense talked about the fragility of the ‘old masters.’ By and large, -they are a hardy lot. Otherwise they wouldn’t have lasted this long.” - -We had worked our crew all day Sunday, so we told them to knock off -as soon as we had finished selecting and segregating the damaged -pictures. With the afternoon to ourselves, we turned our attention to -the miscellaneous assortment of objects in the “Gold Room.” This was -the name given the small room on the ground floor in which Sergeant -Peck had stored the things of great intrinsic value. There were -seventy-five pieces in all: gold chalices studded with precious stones; -silver tankards; reliquaries of gold and enamel work; boxes of jade and -malachite; candelabra, clocks and lamps of marble and gold; precious -plaques of carved ivory; and sets of gold table ornaments. They presented -a specialized packing job which Lamont and I could handle better alone -than with inexperienced helpers. - -Our first problem was to find some small packing cases. We searched -the rest house without success. Then Lamont remembered seeing a pile -of individual wooden file cabinets in the little chapel where most of -the furniture was stored. These were admirably suited to our purpose. -They were rectangular boxes about six feet long and two feet high. Each -was divided into three compartments. There were thirty of them—more -than enough for the job. We had a supply of flannel cloths which we had -borrowed from a packing firm in Munich. After wrapping each piece, we -placed it in one of the compartments of the file cabinet. We stuffed the -compartments with excelsior so that the objects could not move about. - -A few of the items were equipped with special leather cases. Among these -were two swords: one, with a beautifully etched blade of Toledo steel, -had been presented to Göring by the Spanish air force; the other, with -a jewel-studded gold handle, had been a gift from Mussolini. There was -also a gold baton encrusted with precious stones, a present from the -Reichsmarschall’s own air force. - -Of all these objects, perhaps twenty were of modern workmanship. In -contrast to the older things, they were ornate without being beautiful. -Ugliest of the lot was a standing lamp. The stalk, eight inches in -diameter, was a shaft of beaten gold. The shade, with a filigree design, -was also of gold, as were the pull cords. Rivaling it in costly vulgarity -was a set of gold table ornaments. The large centerpiece consisted of -an elliptical framework. At each end and in the center of the two sides -stood Egyptian maidens, fashioned of gold, four feet high. The German -slang word for such stuff is “kitsch.” I think the closest English -equivalent is “corny.” - -Toward the end of the afternoon we were waited on by a delegation of -three officers from the 101st Airborne Division. They had come to inquire -if we would consider turning over to them the gold sword which Mussolini -had given to Göring. They wanted it as a trophy for a club of 101st -Airborne officers which they were organizing. They planned to set up a -clubroom when they got back home and have annual reunions. The sword, -they said, would be such an appropriate souvenir. I told them that I had -been directed to ship everything to Munich and did not have authority to -make any other disposition of objects in the collection. But, since the -sword could not be regarded as a “cultural object”—a fact which I called -to their attention—I suggested that they take the matter up with Third -Army Headquarters in Munich. I refrained from informing them that, for -all of me, they could have their pick of the modern objects in the “Gold -Room.” - -We made an interesting discovery that afternoon. Rummaging in a closet -off the “Gold Room” we found a stack of photograph albums. At the bottom -of the heap lay an enormous portfolio. It contained architect’s drawings -for the proposed expansion of Karinhall. The estate, greatly enlarged, -was to have become a public museum. We had heard that Göring intended -to present his art collection to the Reich on his sixtieth birthday. -Here was concrete proof of those intentions. Each drawing bore the date -“January 1945.” - -Steve returned in triumph at noon the next day. With him in the command -car was Kress, looking more timid than ever. Steve said that Kress had -had a bad time after we left Alt Aussee; the boys at House 71 had clapped -him in jail and left him there for two days before interrogating him. -Steve had been “burned up” about it and had given them a piece of his -mind. He said contemptuously that he had known all along they didn’t have -anything on Kress. But he was content to let bygones be bygones. Steve -had his man Friday back again. - -He pointed happily to the six-by-six which had pulled up behind the -command car. All of Kress’ photographic equipment was packed up inside -it. There was a tremendous lot of stuff: three large cameras, a metal -table for drying prints, reflectors, a sink, pipes of various sizes, -boxes of film and paper, and a couple of large cabinets. Steve planned to -get everything installed at once. Kress was to sleep in one of the rooms -of the rest house. An adjoining room was to be set up as a darkroom. - -We showed Steve our new quarters and suggested that Kress take over our -old room. The one next door would make a good darkroom. I asked Steve how -he was going to get all the stuff installed. He’d have to have a plumber. -That didn’t bother Steve. He asked me to tell the mess sergeant that -Kress was to have his meals with the civilian help in the kitchen. He’d -take care of everything else. Steve was as good as his word. He found a -plumber and by the end of the day Kress was ready to start work. - -Notwithstanding these interruptions, Lamont and I managed to load and -dispatch a convoy of three trucks. This third convoy contained two -hundred paintings, thirty tapestries, fifteen more pieces of large -sculpture and a dozen pieces of Italian Renaissance furniture. - -At odd moments during our first days at Berchtesgaden, we had worried -about the sculpture. In the first three convoys we had disposed of only -thirty of the two hundred and fifty pieces. Most of those remaining were -just under life size. We had no materials with which to build crates. -And even if we had had the lumber, the labor of building them would have -greatly delayed the evacuation. That evening we found the solution of -the problem. The three of us were standing on the open porch outside our -room after supper. Two of the trucks were parked by the loading platform -directly below. Why not make a checkerboard pattern of ropes, strung -waist high across the truck bed? The floor of the truck could be padded -with excelsior. We could set a statue in each of the squares. The ropes -would hold each piece in place. If we stuffed quantities of excelsior -between the statues, they wouldn’t rub. Perhaps it was a crazy idea. On -the other hand, it might work. - -The following morning Steve and two of the men prepared the truck while -Lamont and I selected the statues for the trial load. We chose thirty of -the largest pieces. We figured on seven or eight rows, with four statues -in each row. Kress set up his camera on the porch and photographed the -progress of the operation. One by one the long row of madonnas, saints -and angels was set in place. We hadn’t been far off in our calculations. -There were twenty-nine in all. The truck looked like a tumbrel of the -French Revolution filled with victims for the guillotine. It was a new -technique in the packing of sculpture. Steve said we’d have to send -George Stout a photograph. “And we’ll have to send for more excelsior, -too,” Lamont said. He was quite right. We had used up the last shred. - -That afternoon Steve combed the countryside for a fresh supply of -excelsior, returning just before supper with three new bales. In the -meantime, Lamont went over, with Kress, the paintings to be photographed. -Sergeant Peck and I completed numbering the last of the pictures. - -The next day we loaded three more trucks. With Steve on hand to crack the -whip over the men, the loading went fast, so fast in fact that Sergeant -Peck had a hard time checking off the paintings as they were hoisted onto -the trucks. We packed four hundred pictures, the cases containing the -gold and silver objects which Lamont and I had finished the day before, -and another dozen pieces of furniture. The convoy—our fourth—got off in -the early afternoon. We placed a special guard on the truck with the -sculpture to make sure that the driver didn’t smoke on the way. - -We finished one more truck and stopped for a cigarette. It was a hot day -and we didn’t feel like doing any more work. Steve had gone up to the -darkroom to see Kress. Lamont said, “Let’s go up to Munich.” - -“That suits me, but what excuse have we got?” I asked. - -“If we must have an excuse, I can think of at least four,” he said -thoughtfully. “We’re out of cigarettes and candy. We ought to be on hand -when they unpack the sculpture at the Collecting Point. We’ve worked for -a week without taking a day off. And perhaps there’ll be some mail for us -at Posey’s office.” - -“What about the little brown bear? Do you think he’ll mind our taking -off?” I asked. This was Lamont’s name for Steve, but it was never used -when he was within earshot. - -“Steve’s had his trip for this week,” said Lamont, meaning Steve’s trip -to Alt Aussee. - -Sergeant Peck, who had overheard part of our conversation, asked if he -might join us. We told him to be ready in ten minutes and went off to -notify Steve of our plans and to pack up our musette bags. Steve was -so busy helping Kress with his developing that he scarcely paid any -attention to us. After leaving him a final injunction to have at least -three trucks loaded before we got back the next evening, we called for -the command car. The driver, a restless redhead named Freedberg, who -hated the monotonous routine at Berchtesgaden, was delighted with the -idea of going to Munich. Sergeant Peck appeared and we set off. - -We chose the shorter road through the mountains and overtook the convoy -on the Autobahn, halfway to Munich. The front escort jeep was holding -the speed down to thirty-five miles an hour, in accordance with my -instructions. The driver waved envyingly as we passed them doing fifty. -Twenty miles from Munich, Freedberg turned west off the Autobahn and took -the back road from Bad Tölz, a short cut which brought us directly to -Third Army Headquarters. - -We arrived at Captain Posey’s office just as Lincoln Kirstein was leaving -for chow. He told us that the captain had gone to Pilsen the middle of -the week but was due back that evening. “There’s quite a lot of mail for -both of you,” Lincoln said. He handed us each a thick batch of letters. -It was the first mail I had received from home in six weeks. There were -forty-two letters! - -“I told you there’d be mail for us,” said Lamont with a satisfied smile. - -We had supper with Craig Smyth and Ham Coulter at the Detachment that -evening. Craig said that the convoy had not arrived before he left the -Collecting Point, but two of his German workmen were to be on duty the -next morning, even though it was Sunday. We arranged to meet him at his -office and supervise the unloading. Lincoln had said that Posey would not -be back before ten, so we spent the evening with Craig and Ham at their -apartment. - -Just before we returned to Third Army Headquarters, Ham gave us a small -paper-bound volume. It was entitled _The Ludwigs of Bavaria_. The author -was Henry Channon. - -“This is one of the most fascinating books I’ve ever read,” Ham said. -“You might take it along with you.” - -I thanked him, and stuck it in my musette bag. Before our operations -in Bavaria ended two months later, that little book had come to mean -a great deal to the members of the evacuation team. We called it our -“Bavarian bible.” So alluring were Channon’s descriptions of the -“Seven Wonders of Bavaria” that whenever we had a free day—or even -a few hours to ourselves—we made excursions to these architectural -fantasies: the swirling, baroque churches of Wies, Weltenburg, -Ottobeuren and Vierzehnheiligen; the Amalienburg and the palace of -Herrenchiemsee. The Residenz at Würzburg, which we had seen, was one -of the seven. Unofficially we added an eighth to the list: Schloss -Linderhof, Ludwig II’s opulent little palace near Oberammergau—ornate and -vulgar, yet fascinating in its lonely mountain setting. But these were -extracurricular activities, falling outside the orbit of our official -work. - -We found Captain Posey at his office when we got there a few minutes -before ten that evening. He asked us for a complete account of our -operations at Berchtesgaden. We reported that we had sent a total of -fourteen truckloads up to Munich the first week; that we had cleaned -out half the pictures, but that we had just begun on the sculpture. We -estimated that it would take us another ten days to finish; we would -probably fill seventeen or eighteen more trucks. - -We asked him what plans he would have for us when we completed the job. -He said he might send us to the Castle of Neuschwanstein. The place -was full of things looted from Paris. In fact, it was one of the major -repositories of the _Einsatzstab Rosenberg_. The French were clamoring to -have it evacuated. Then there was another big repository in a Carthusian -monastery at Buxheim. That too contained loot from Paris. Perhaps we -could take a run down to both places and size up the jobs after we had -finished with the Göring things. The captain was tired after his long -trip, so we didn’t go into details about either of the two prospective -assignments. He offered us a billet for the night and the three of us -turned in shortly after eleven. It was none too soon for me: I still had -forty-two unopened letters from home in the pocket of my jacket. - -When we arrived at the Collecting Point the next morning, the two German -workmen who had been with me at Hohenfurth were starting to unpack the -truck with the sculpture. Lamont and I examined each statue as it was -lifted from its nest of excelsior. All twenty-nine had come through -without a scratch. Our experiment was a success. We would be able to -use the same technique with the rest of the sculpture. I instructed the -workmen to leave all of the excelsior in the truck, as we had none to -spare. - -I persuaded Craig to drive back to Berchtesgaden with us for the -night. He looked tired and I thought the change would do him good. His -responsibilities at the Collecting Point—the “Bau,” as we called it (our -abbreviation for Verwaltungsbau)—were heavy; and he never took a day off. - -On the return trip he told us his latest troubles. Only three days ago a -small bomb had exploded in the basement of the “Bau.” It had blown one -of the young German workmen to bits. Craig gave all the grisly details, -which included discovering one of the poor fellow’s arms in a heap of -debris fifty feet from the scene of the explosion. The tragedy had had -one beneficial result. For weeks Craig had been harping on the subject of -additional guards for the Collecting Point. His words had fallen on deaf -ears—until the bomb episode. He said that a general and three colonels -arrived at the building within half an hour. Since then everyone had -been so “security-conscious” that he had had no further difficulty in -obtaining the desired number of guards. The Bomb Disposal Unit inspected -the premises and some pointed comments were made about the thoroughness -of the original survey. - -In our absence Steve had loaded three trucks. As a reward for his -labors, I suggested that he take Craig up to the Eagle’s Nest the -following morning. While they were gone, Lamont and I finished three -more loads. We had the convoy of six lined up by noon. Craig returned -to Munich in one of the escort jeeps. This fifth convoy contained -one hundred and sixty-seven paintings, one hundred and six pieces -of sculpture, twenty-five tapestries, sixty-eight cases filled with -bibelots, and fifty-three pieces of furniture. It was our largest convoy -out of Berchtesgaden thus far. - -It was also the first one to break down. Late in the afternoon, the rear -escort jeep arrived at the rest house with word that two of the trucks -had broken down fifteen miles out of Berchtesgaden. Steve and I drove -to Berchtesgaden to arrange to have them towed in for reloading. I also -wanted to do a little investigating. There could be little excuse for -breakdowns on the Munich road if the trucks had been in good mechanical -condition when they started out. - -On the way into town, Steve said, “Tom, I think I know what caused the -trouble. I didn’t think of it till just now. But the other day on the -road back from Alt Aussee, two six-by-sixes passed me at a hell of a -clip. I thought I recognized the drivers as two of ours.” - -I questioned the lieutenant in charge of the drivers. He professed -ignorance of any unauthorized junkets back to Alt Aussee. - -“I am going to have a word with Tiny,” said Steve as we left the -lieutenant’s room. Tiny was the head mechanic and the only one of the -entire crew who was always on the job. Steve wanted to talk to him alone, -so I waited in the car. - -A few minutes later he came back with a satisfied grin on his face. “I -got the whole story,” he said. “The drivers have been racing back and -forth to Alt Aussee all the time we’ve been here. They were crazy about -it up at the mine. Tiny says they hate it here at Berchtesgaden.” - -“Well, we’ll fix that,” I said. I went back to see the lieutenant. “How -many drivers have you got and how many trucks?” I asked. - -“Sixteen drivers and thirteen trucks,” he said. - -“Send eight of the drivers and five of the trucks up to Munich first -thing in the morning and have them report to the trucking company. We can -finish the job here without them.” - -Steve always sang when he was in a particularly happy frame of mind. That -evening, on the way back to the rest house, he was in exceptionally good -voice. - -Five days later we completed the evacuation of the Göring collection. -The last two convoys, of four and seven trucks respectively, contained -the larger pictures, one hundred and seventy-seven of them; sixty -pieces of sculpture, twenty miscellaneous cases, sixty-seven pieces -of furniture and two hundred empty picture frames. We had heavy rain -that last week and the mud was ankle-deep around the loading platform. -Although it was early August, the nights were cold and the rest house, -emptied of its treasures, was a cheerless place. We were glad to see -the last of the trucks pull out of the drive. It had been a strenuous -operation—thirty-one truckloads in thirteen days. In the early afternoon -we would collect our personal belongings and return to Munich. - - - - -(8) - -_LOOTERS’ CASTLE: SCHLOSS NEUSCHWANSTEIN_ - - -A telephone call from Brigade Headquarters changed our plans. It was -Major Luther Miller of G-2. He had just made an inspection of a house -belonging to one of Göring’s henchmen and there was a lot of “art stuff” -in it. He had reported the find to Third Army Headquarters and Captain -Posey had told him to get in touch with me. Could I go up to the house -with him that afternoon? - -Major Miller picked me up after lunch. He was a handsome fellow, tall -and sparely built. He had an easy, pleasant manner. As we drove along -he gave me further details about the house to which we were going. It -had been occupied until the day before by Fritz Görnnert and his wife. -Görnnert had been the social secretary and close confidant of Göring. The -Görnnerts had been living on the second and third floors. They shared the -house with a man named Angerer, who had the first floor. Both Görnnert -and Angerer had been apprehended and were now in jail. Major Miller had -found a suspiciously large number of tapestries and other art objects on -the premises. He thought they might be loot. - -The house was an unpretentious villa hidden among pine trees high up -in the hills above the town. The place was under guard. On the ground -floor we examined the contents of a small store-room. There were several -cases bearing Angerer’s name and three or four large crates containing -Italian furniture. A similar store-room on the second floor contained a -dozen tapestries, a pile of Oriental rugs, a large collection of church -vestments and nearly a hundred rare textiles mounted on cardboard. I -noticed that the tapestries, vestments and textiles were individually -tagged and that the markings were in French. - -Concealed beneath the tapestries were ten cases, each one about two feet -square and a foot high. Major Miller hadn’t seen these before. On each -one was stenciled in Gothic letters: “Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring.” -They contained a magnificent collection of Oriental weapons. - -In a room which Görnnert had apparently used for a study we found six -handsome leather portfolios filled with Old Master drawings. The drawings -were by Dutch and French artists of the seventeenth and eighteenth -centuries. - -There was a possibility that all of these things, with the exception of -the weapon collection, which Göring had probably entrusted to Görnnert, -were the legitimate property of the tenants. It was equally possible -that they had been illegally acquired. In the circumstances, Major -Miller wished me to take charge of them. I said that I could take them -to the Central Collecting Point at Munich where they would be held in -safekeeping until ownership had been determined. - -The house had been thoroughly ransacked. Drawers had been pulled out and -their contents disarranged. Closet doors stood open and the clothing -on the hangers had been gone over. The beds were rumpled, for even the -mattresses had been searched. Despite the topsy-turvy look of things, -there was no evidence of wanton destruction. The search had been thorough -and methodical. I asked the major what his men had been looking for, but -his answer was noncommittal. He did say, though, that the discovery of -documents hidden in a false partition in the living room had prompted the -search. - -The following morning Steve, Lamont and I went to the Görnnert house in -the command car. It would have been difficult to take a large truck up -the narrow winding road. In any case, I thought we could probably load -all of the stuff in the command car. Major Miller had sent one of his -officers ahead with the key. The house had been searched again. This time -it looked as though a cyclone had struck it. Pillows had been ripped -open; drawers had been emptied on the floor; clothes were scattered all -over the bedrooms. I was relieved to find that the things which we had -come to take away had not been tampered with. I asked the lieutenant with -the key what had been going on in the house, and he muttered something -about “those CIC boys.” I seemed to have touched on a sore subject, -so I didn’t pursue the matter. Lamont, who knew the ways of the Army -far better than I, said that probably there had been a “jurisdictional -dispute” over who had the right to search the place and that perhaps two -different outfits had taken a crack at it. I was glad that Major Miller’s -emissary was there to bear witness to _our_ behavior. - -We bundled up the rugs, tapestries and textiles and got out as quickly -as possible. They completely filled the command car. Lamont and Steve -sat in front with the driver. I wedged myself in between the top of the -pile and the canvas top of the car. There was no room for the ten cases -of weapons, so I sent a message to Major Miller to have one of his men -deliver them to us later in the day. - -When we got back to the rest house, Kress had dismantled his darkroom -and after lunch we loaded the photographic equipment onto the one truck -we had held over for that purpose. There was ample space for the things -from the Görnnert house. Before packing them we had to make a complete -list of the items. There were two hundred and thirteen church vestments, -eighty-one mounted textiles, twenty rugs and eleven tapestries. It was -suppertime when we finished. As the ten cases of weapons hadn’t arrived, -we decided to wait till morning and load everything at once. - -That evening Major Anderson of the 101st Airborne came over with the -official receipt which I was to sign. It was an elaborate document -comprising Sergeant Peck’s seventy-page inventory and a covering letter -from the C.O. of the 101st Airborne Division to the Commanding General of -the Third Army stating that I had received from Major Anderson the entire -Göring collection for delivery to the Central Collecting Point at Munich. -Having discharged his responsibility, the major was free to go home to -the U.S.A. That called for a celebration and he had brought a bottle -of cognac. It was sixty years old. He said that it came from Hitler’s -private stock at the Berghof. Even Steve, who had harbored a slight -grudge toward Anderson since the night of our arrival in Berchtesgaden, -relented and the four of us toasted the successful evacuation of the -Göring treasures. - -The major had another surprise for us: he had engaged a room at the -Berchtesgadener Hof. He insisted that the three of us move over from the -rest house. The next day was Sunday. What would be the point of going up -to Munich? We had been working hard for two weeks. Why not take life easy -for a day or two? - -The Berchtesgadener Hof was a luxurious resort hotel. Its appointments -were modern and lavish. In the days of the Nazi regime, it had been -patronized by all visiting dignitaries, save the chosen few who had been -invited to stay at the Berghof or the small hotel at Obersalzberg. It -was now being used by the Army as a “leave hotel.” We had an enormous -double room with twin beds and a couch. We had our own private terrace. -The room faced south with a wonderful view of the mountains. We even had -a telephone which worked. I hadn’t seen such magnificence since the Royal -Monceau in Paris. There was a room for our driver on the top floor. The -final de luxe touch was the schedule of meal hours; breakfast wasn’t even -served until eight-thirty. It was hard to believe that we were in Germany. - -We were awakened early by a call from Major Miller. He had another job -for me—two, in fact. They had been interrogating Görnnert and he had told -them that several pieces of valuable sculpture had been buried in the -grounds of his house. The major had located the spot and the things were -to be excavated before noon. Also he wanted me to go with him to inspect -a cache of pictures reported hidden in a forester’s house not far from -Berchtesgaden. I said I’d be ready in an hour. - -The phone rang again. This time it was Captain Posey. Had we remembered -to pick up the pictures at St. Agatha? The ones Mussolini had given to -Hitler? No, we hadn’t. We were to be sure to attend to that before we -returned to Munich. Steve was cursing these early callers and Lamont was -shaking his head sadly. Our life of ease was getting off to a hell of a -poor start. - -When Major Miller and I reached the Görnnert place, the Sergeant of the -Guard and one of his men were standing beside a hole in the ground some -twenty yards behind the house. The hole was about six feet square and -four feet deep. Four bundles wrapped in discolored newspaper lay on the -ground at the edge of the excavation. The first bundle I opened contained -a wood statue of the Madonna and Child, about eighteen inches high. It -had been an attractive example of the fifteenth century French school, -but moisture had seriously damaged the original polychromy and the wood -beneath was soft and pulpy. The next two bundles contained pieces of -similar workmanship, but they were not polychromed. One was a Madonna and -Child; the other a figure of St. Barbara. Although they were damp, the -wood had not disintegrated. The fourth package contained the prize of the -lot, an ivory figure of the Madonna and Child. It was a fine piece from -the hand of a French sculptor of the late fourteenth century. The ivory -was discolored but otherwise in good condition. I wrapped the statues in -fresh paper and put them in the car. - -Our next objective was the little village of Hintersee, a few kilometers -west of Berchtesgaden. The forester’s house, a large chalet with -overhanging eaves, stood at the edge of a meadow several hundred yards -from the road. I explained the purpose of our visit to the young woman -in peasant dress who answered our knock. She took us to a room on the -second floor which was filled with unframed canvases stacked in neat -rows along the walls. They were the work of contemporary German painters -and, according to the young woman, had been the property of the local -Nazi organization. From my point of view, the trip had been a waste of -time. There wasn’t a looted picture in the lot. While I looked at the -paintings, Major Miller thumbed through a pile of books on a big table -in one corner of the room. Among them he found a volume called _Die -Polnische Grausamkeit_—_The Polish Atrocity_. A characteristic sample -of German propaganda, it was a compilation of “horror photographs” -illustrating the alleged inhuman treatment of Germans by the Poles. It -added a gruesome touch to our visit. - -[Illustration: Removal of treasures from the castle of Neuschwanstein was -completed by Captain Adams and Captain de Brye.] - -[Illustration: Neuschwanstein—Ludwig II’s fantastic castle in which the -Nazis stored looted art treasures from France.] - -[Illustration: Neuschwanstein. Packing looted furniture for return to -France. The carpentry shop was set up in the castle kitchen. (Note the -large range in the foreground.)] - -[Illustration: Neuschwanstein. Typical storage room in the castle. In -adjoining room Lieutenants Howe, Moore and Kovalyak packed 2,000 pieces -of gold and silver looted from M. David-Weill.] - -When I got back to the hotel at noon I found messages from Steve and -Lamont. Steve had gone over to Unterstein to see about the repairs on -his Steyr truck, the one he and Kress had spent so much time on—fitting -it up as a mobile photographic unit. There was also some work to be done -on the Mercedes-Benz, which had been standing idle, concealed behind a -clump of bushes by the rest house, during our evacuation of the Göring -collection. Steve had been right about the car; Colonel Davitt at Alt -Aussee had not pressed his claim to it. - -Lamont had taken off for St. Agatha in a truck borrowed from Brigade -Headquarters to pick up the Hitler-Mussolini pictures. - -There was also a message brought down by courier from Captain Posey’s -office. It contained a list of three places in the vicinity of -Berchtesgaden which should be inspected on the chance that they contained -items from the Göring collection. One of them was the forester’s hut -at Hintersee which I had just seen. The other two were castles in -the neighborhood: Schloss Stauffeneck-Tiereck and Schloss Marzoll. I -asked Major Anderson at lunch what he knew about them. He had nothing -to contribute on the subject and said I’d probably draw a blank on -all three. After removing the Göring things from the train, he had -taken the precaution of publishing a notice to all residents of the -area instructing them to declare all art works in their possession. -He had done this as a means of recovering objects which might have -been sequestered by Göring’s agents and objects which might have been -surreptitiously removed from the train while it stood on the siding. -The results had been disappointing. Only about thirty pictures had been -turned in and none of them was in any way connected with Göring. - -The major’s prediction was correct. Lamont, Steve and I visited the two -castles the next day. In addition to their own furnishings, Schloss -Stauffeneck-Tiereck and Schloss Marzoll contained only books from the -University of Munich. These fruitless researches took all day. It was -after five when we left Berchtesgaden. - -It was raining when we reached Munich three hours later. Kress had no -place to stay and it took us an hour to locate a civilian agency which -provided billets for transients. The only thing they had to offer was a -room for one night in a ruined nunnery on the Mathilde-Strasse. It was a -gloomy place. There was no light and the windows were without glass. One -of the Sisters, candle in hand, led us along a dark corridor to a small -single room at the back. We followed with our flashlights. We gave Kress -a box of K rations and told him we’d come back for him in the morning. -Steve was of two minds about the place: on the one hand it wasn’t good -enough for Kress; on the other he was impressed by the compassion of -the Sisters in offering refuge to strangers. He wanted me to point out -to Kress the anomaly of his being given sanctuary by the Church. I -convinced him that my German wasn’t fluent enough. We thanked the Sister -and went off to find ourselves a billet. We decided on the Excelsior, -the hotel for transient officers. We were several miles from Third Army -Headquarters, whereas the hotel was only a few blocks away. - -I didn’t like driving the Mercedes-Benz around Munich, even though I had -got away with it so far. The Third Army regulation forbidding officers -to drive was strictly enforced. Perhaps my uniform baffled the MPs. -It consisted of a Navy cap with blue cover, a British battle jacket -with Navy shoulder boards, khaki trousers and black riding boots. It -was my personal opinion that the MPs mistook the shoulder bars for the -insignia of a Polish officer. The Poles, and the other liaison officers -as well, were allowed to drive their own cars. Steve used to pooh-pooh -my apprehensions about the MPs. “They’re a bunch of dumbheads,” he would -say. “I ought to know. I used to be one.” All the same, he didn’t do much -daytime driving around town. - -Captain Posey had our next job lined up for us. We were to evacuate -the records of the _Einsatzstab Rosenberg_—the German art-looting -organization—from Neuschwanstein Castle. The job would include the -removal of part of the stolen art treasures also. The captain told us -that the castle contained a great quantity of uncrated objects, mostly -gold and silver. They presented a serious security problem and it wasn’t -safe to leave them there indefinitely. Even though the French were -anxious to get everything back from Neuschwanstein, for the present they -would have to be content with the gold and the silver objects and as many -of the smaller cases as we could handle. It would be more practicable -to ship the larger things—furniture, sculpture and pictures—direct to -France by rail. This possibility was being investigated. It would save -moving the things twice—first from Neuschwanstein to Munich, and then -from Munich to Paris. But the records were badly needed at the Collecting -Point in connection with the identification of the plunder stored there. -So we were to concentrate on them and on the objects of great intrinsic -value. - -It was going to take three or four days to line up the trucks necessary -for this operation. There was a critical shortage of transportation -at the moment because all available vehicles were being used to haul -firewood. This was popularly known as “Patton’s pet project.” For some -weeks it had first priority after foodstuffs. - -We welcomed the delay, for it gave us time to make a trip to Frankfurt. -All three of us had urgent business to attend to there. Lamont’s and -Steve’s records had to be straightened out. Both of them had been -working in the field for so long that the headquarters to which they -were technically assigned had lost track of them. And I wanted to find -out what had happened to the personal belongings I had left in Frankfurt -months ago. When I left I had expected to be gone ten days. - -In the back of our minds, too, lurked the hope of becoming “incorporated” -as a Special Evacuation Team. That’s what we were in fact, but we wanted -to be recognized as such in name. The three of us worked well together -and did not want to be separated. The decision would rest with Major La -Farge and Lieutenant Kuhn. - -We wheedled a command car out of the sergeant at the motor pool and took -off late in the afternoon. Lamont, Steve and I rode in the Mercedes-Benz, -the command car following. I had little confidence in our rakish -convertible. The car had been behaving well enough mechanically, but the -tires were paper-thin. They were an odd size and we had not been able to -get any replacements. It was reassuring to know that the sturdy command -car was trailing along behind. - -We arrived at Ulm in time for supper. Long before we reached the city, -we could see the soaring single spire of the cathedral silhouetted -against the sky. There was literally nothing left of the old city. All -the medieval houses which, with the cathedral, had made it one of the -most picturesque cities in Germany, lay in ruins. But the cathedral was -undamaged. - -We stopped for gas just outside Ulm. To our surprise, the Army attendant -filled our tanks. This was Seventh Army territory. In Third Army area the -maximum was five gallons. I mentioned this to the attendant. He said, -“There’s no gas shortage here. General Patton must be building up one -hell of a big stockpile.” - -We spent the night in Stuttgart. As the main transient hotel was full, we -were assigned rooms at a small inn on the outskirts of the battered city. -It took us an hour to find the place, so it was past midnight when we -turned in. - -The next morning we detoured a few kilometers in order to visit the -castle at Ludwigsburg. The little town was laid out in the French manner, -and its atmosphere was that of a miniature Versailles. The caretaker told -us that the kings of Württemberg had lived at the castle until 1918. Our -visit to it was the one pleasant experience of the day, which happened -to be my birthday. We had our first flat tire in the castle courtyard, a -second one an hour later, and a third between Mannheim and Darmstadt. It -was Sunday and we had a devilish time finding places where we could get -the inner tubes repaired. It was ten P.M. when we pulled into Frankfurt. -The trip from Stuttgart had taken eleven hours instead of the usual four. -We had spent seven hours on tire repairs. - -My old room with the pink brocaded furniture was vacant, so I moved in -for the night. In my absence it had been successively occupied by three -lieutenant colonels. All of my belongings had been boxed and stored away -in the closet. Lamont and Steve put up at the house next door. - -We called on Bancel La Farge and Charlie Kuhn at USFET Headquarters -the next morning. We were lucky to find them together. Their office at -that time was a kind of house divided against itself. Thanks to the -organizational whim of a colonel, Bancel and Charlie had to spend part of -the day in the office at the big Farben building—where we found them—and -part at their office in Höchst. Höchst was about six miles away. The -remnant of the U. S. Group Control Council, which had not yet moved up -to Berlin, was located there—in another vast complex of I. G. Farben -buildings. It was an exhausting arrangement. - -Bancel and Charlie looked tired—and worried too. They seemed glad to -see us, but they were preoccupied and upset about something. Presently -Charlie showed us a document which had just reached his desk a few days -earlier. It was unsigned and undated. - -It bore the letterhead “Headquarters U. S. Group Control Council.” The -subject was “Art Objects in the U. S. Zone.”[2] In the first paragraph -reference was made to the great number and value of the art objects -stored in emergency repositories throughout the U. S. Zone. Farther on, -the art objects were divided into three classes, according to ownership. - -Those in “Class C” were defined as “works of art, placed in the U. S. -Zone by Germany for safekeeping, which are the bona fide property of the -German nation.” - -Concerning the disposition of the works of art thus described, the letter -had this to say: “It is not believed that the U. S. would desire the -works of art in Class C to be made available for reparations and to be -divided among a number of nations. Even if this is to be done, these -works of art might well be returned to the U. S. to be inventoried, and -cared for by our leading museums.” - -The next, and last, sentence contained this extraordinary proposal: “They -could be held in trusteeship for return, many years from now, to the -German people if and when the German nation had earned the right to their -return.” - -Clipped to the document was a notation, dated July 29, 1945, bearing -the signature of the Chief of Staff of General Lucius D. Clay, Deputy -Military Governor. It read, in part, “General Clay states that this paper -has been approved by the President for implementation after the close of -the current Big 3 Conference.” - -We were dumfounded. No wonder Bancel and Charlie were worried. It had -never occurred to any of us that German national art treasures would -be removed to the United States. After speculating on the possible -consequences attendant on an implementation of the document, we dropped -the subject. Momentarily there was nothing to do but wait—and hope that -the whole matter would be dropped. - -By comparison, our personal problems seemed insignificant. But Charlie -and Bancel heard us out. They approved our idea of remaining together as -a team working out of USFET. I was already permanently assigned to USFET -and there were two vacancies on their T.O. (Table of Organization) to -which Lamont and Steve could be appointed. The necessary “paper work” -took up most of the day and involved a trip to ECAD headquarters at Bad -Homburg. At five o’clock we had our new orders. - -Steve suggested that we drive up to Marburg to see Captain Hancock, the -Monuments officer in charge of the two great art repositories which had -been established there. They were the prototype of the Central Collecting -Point at Munich. However, they differed in an important respect from the -one at Munich: they contained practically no loot. Virtually everything -in them belonged to German museums and had been recovered by our -Monuments officers from the mines in which the Germans had placed them -for safekeeping during the war. - -Marburg, some fifty miles north of Frankfurt, lay in the -Regierungsbezirk, or government district, of Kassel, which was in turn -a subdivision of the Province of Hesse. It was a two-hour drive, but we -stopped en route for supper with a Quartermaster outfit at Giessen, so it -was nearly eight o’clock when we arrived. - -We found Walker Hancock in his office in the Staatsarchiv building. He -was a man in the middle forties, and of medium height. His face broke -into a smile and his fine dark eyes lighted up with an expression of -genuine pleasure at the sight of Lamont and Steve. This was the first -time they had seen one another since the close of the war when they -had been working together in Weimar. I had never met Walker Hancock, -but I had heard more about him than about any other American Monuments -officer. I knew that he had had a distinguished career as a sculptor -before the war and that he had been the first of our Monuments officers -to reach France. He had been attached to the First Army until the end of -hostilities. Lamont was devoted to Walker, and Steve’s regard for him -bordered on worship. While the three of them reminisced, I found myself -responding to his warmth and sincerity. - -He wouldn’t hear of our returning to Frankfurt that night. He wanted -to show us the things in his two depots and we wouldn’t be able to see -more than a fraction of them before morning. The few that we did see -whetted our appetite for more. In the galleries on the second floor -we saw some of the finest pictures from the museums of the Rhineland: -there were three wonderful Van Goghs. One was the portrait of Armand -Rollin, the young man with a mustache and slouch hat. It belonged to the -Volkwang Museum at Essen. Color reproductions of this portrait had, in -recent years, rivaled those of Whistler’s _Mother_ in popularity. Walker -said that it had been covered with mold when he found it in the Siegen -mine with the rest of the Essen pictures. His assistant, Sheldon Keck, -formerly the restorer of the Brooklyn Museum, had successfully removed -the mold before it had done any serious damage. - -The second Van Gogh was the famous large still life entitled _White -Roses_. The third was a brilliant late landscape. There were other -magnificent nineteenth century canvases: the bewitching portrait -of M. and Mme. Sisley by Renoir, a full-length Manet, and a great -Daumier. Walker climaxed the display with the celebrated Rembrandt -_Self-Portrait_ from the Wallraf-Richartz Museum of Cologne. This was the -last and most famous of the portraits the artist painted of himself. - -We spent the night at the Gasthaus Sonne, a seventeenth century inn -facing the old market place. The proprietor reluctantly assigned us two -rooms on the second floor. They were normally reserved for the top brass. -Judging from the austerity of the furnishings and the simplicity of the -plumbing, I thought it unlikely that we would be routed from our beds by -any late-arriving generals. - -Walker met us for breakfast the next morning with word that the war -with Japan had ended. Announcements in German had already been posted -in several of the shop windows. Though thrilling to us, the news seemed -to make very little impression on the citizens of the sleepy university -town. The people in the streets were as unsmiling as ever. If anything, -some of them looked a little grimmer than usual. - -We drove to the Staatsarchiv building with Walker. He took us to a room -containing a fabulous collection of medieval art objects. There were -crosses and croziers, coffers and chalices, wrought in precious metals -and studded with jewels—masterpieces of the tenth, eleventh and twelfth -centuries. The most arresting individual piece was the golden Madonna, -an archaic seated figure two feet high, dating from the tenth century. -These marvelous relics of the Middle Ages belonged to the Cathedral of -Metz. It was one of the greatest collections of its kind in the entire -world. Its intrinsic value was enormous; its historic value incalculable. -Walker said that arrangements were being made for its early return to the -cathedral. The French were planning an elaborate ceremony in honor of the -event. - -It was a five-minute drive to the other depot under Captain Hancock’s -direction. This was the Jubiläumsbau, or Jubilee Building, a handsome -structure of pre-Nazi, modern design. It was the headquarters of the -archaeological institute headed by Professor Richard Hamann, the -internationally famous medieval scholar. It also housed the archives of -“Photo Marburg,” the stupendous library of art photographs founded and -directed by the professor. Walker was putting the resources of Photo -Marburg to good use, compiling a complete photographic record of the -objects in his care. - -Among the treasures stored in the Jubiläumsbau were some of the choicest -masterpieces from the Berlin state museums. Perhaps the most famous were -the twin canvases by Watteau entitled _Gersaint’s Signboard_. Regarded -by many as the supreme work of the greatest painter of the French Rococo -period, the two pictures had been the prized possessions of Frederick the -Great. Painted to hang side by side forming a continuous composition, -they represented the shop of M. Gersaint, dealer in works of art. It is -said that the paintings were finished in eight days. They were painted -in the year 1732 when the artist was at the height of his career. I was -told that, during the early years of the war, Göring made overtures to -the Louvre for one of its finest Watteaus. According to the story, the -negotiations ended abruptly when the museum signified its willingness to -part with the painting in exchange for _Gersaint’s Signboard_. - -The brilliant French school of the eighteenth century was further -represented at the Jubiläumsbau by a superb Boucher—the subject, _Mercury -and Venus_—and two exquisite Chardins: _The Cook_, one of his most -enchanting scenes of everyday life, and the _Portrait of a Lady Sealing a -Letter_, an unusually large composition for this unpretentious painter -whose canvases are today worth a king’s ransom. - -There were masterpieces of the German school; the great series of -Cranachs which had belonged to the Hohenzollerns filled one entire room. -Excellent examples of Rubens and Van Dyck represented the Flemish school; -Ruysdael and Van Goyen, the Dutch. The high quality of every picture -attested to the taste and connoisseurship of German collectors. - -Walker said that he hoped to arrange a public exhibition of the pictures. -Marburg had been neglected by our bombers. Only one or two bombs had -fallen in the city and the resulting damage had been slight. Concussion -had blasted the windows of the Staatsarchiv, but the Jubiläumsbau was -untouched. Perhaps he would put on a series of small exhibitions, say -fifty pictures at a time. The members of his local German committee -were enthusiastic about the project. It would be an important first -step in the rehabilitation of German cultural institutions which -was an avowed part of the American Fine Arts program. Thanks to the -hesitancy of an officer at higher headquarters who was exasperatingly -“security-conscious,” Walker did not realize his ambition until three -months later, on the eve of his departure for the United States. - -We celebrated VJ-Day on our return to Frankfurt that evening. The big -Casino, behind USFET headquarters, was the scene of the principal -festivities. Drinks were on the house until the bar closed at ten. It -was a warm summer night and the broad terrace over the main entrance was -crowded. An Army band blared noisily inside. Civilian attendants skulked -in the background, avidly collecting cigarette butts from the ash trays -and the terrace floor. They reaped a rich harvest that night. - -The Mercedes-Benz presented a problem. Its status was a dubious one. -Since it was still registered with an MG Detachment in Austria, I -felt uncomfortable about driving it around Germany. At Charlie Kuhn’s -suggestion we filed a request with the Naval headquarters in Frankfurt -for assignment of the vehicle to our Special Evacuation Team. The request -was couched in impressive legal language which Charlie thought would do -the trick. Armed with a copy of this request, I felt confident that we -would not be molested by inquisitive MPs on our trip back to Munich. - -We didn’t get started until late afternoon, having wasted two hours -dickering with the Transportation Officer at the Frankfurt MG Detachment -for a spare tire. We returned by way of Würzburg and Nürnberg. It was -dark when we reached Nürnberg, but the light of the full moon was -sufficient to reveal the ruined walls and towers of the old, inner city. -As we struck south of the city to the Autobahn, we could see the outlines -of the vast unfinished stadium, designed to seat one hundred and forty -thousand people. We had to proceed cautiously since many of the bridges -had been destroyed and detours were frequent. As a result it was midnight -when we reached Munich. The transient hotel was full, so we had to be -content with makeshift quarters at the Central Collecting Point. - -In our absence the transportation situation had eased up a little. -Captain Posey told us the next morning that six trucks would be available -in the early afternoon. We decided to keep the command car for the trip -to Neuschwanstein and leave the Mercedes-Benz in Munich to be painted. In -anticipation of registration papers from the Navy, we thought it would be -appropriate to have the car painted battleship gray and stenciled with -white letters reading “U. S. Navy.” One of the mechanics in the garage -at the Central Collecting Point agreed to do this for us in exchange for -a bottle of rum and half a bottle of Scotch. Officers at Third Army -Headquarters had bar privileges plus a liquor ration, but the enlisted -men didn’t fare so well. - -Our base of operations for the evacuation of the Castle of Neuschwanstein -was the picturesque little town of Füssen, some eighty miles south of -Munich, in the heart of the “Swan country.” This region of southern -Bavaria, celebrated for its association with the name of Richard Wagner, -is one of the most beautiful in all Germany. The mountains rise sharply -from the floor of the level green valley. The turreted castle, perched -on top of one of the lower peaks, at an elevation of a thousand feet, -is visible for miles. Built in the eighteen-seventies by Ludwig II, the -“Mad King” of Bavaria, it was the most fantastic creation of that exotic -monarch whose passion for building nearly bankrupted his kingdom. When we -saw the castle rising majestically from its pine-covered mountaintop, we -were struck by the incongruity of our six-truck convoy lumbering through -the romantic countryside. - -We presented our credentials to a swarthy major who was the commanding -officer of the small MG Detachment at Füssen. He arranged for our billets -at the Alte Post, the hotel where officers of the Detachment were -quartered, and, after we had deposited our gear in a room on the fourth -floor, conducted us to the Schloss. - -The steep road to the lower courtyard of the castle wound for more than -a mile up the side of the mountain. At the castle entrance, the major -identified us to the guard and our six trucks filed into the courtyard. -In the upper courtyard, reached by a broad flight of stone steps, we -found the caretaker who had the keys to the main section of the castle. -He did not, however, have access to the wing in which the records of the -_Einsatzstab Rosenberg_ were stored. The only door to that part of the -building had been locked and sealed by Lieutenant James Rorimer, the -Monuments officer of the Seventh Army, when the castle had first fallen -into American hands. We had brought the key with us from Third Army -Headquarters. - -Before examining those rooms, we made a tour of the four main floors of -the castle. The hallways and vaulted kitchens on the first floor were -filled to overflowing with enormous packing cases and uncrated furniture, -all taken from French collections. Three smaller storage rooms resembling -the stock rooms of Tiffany’s and a porcelain factory combined, were -jammed with gold and silver and rare china. Most of the loot had been -concentrated on the first floor, but the unfinished rooms of the second -had been fitted with racks for the storage of paintings. In addition to -the looted pictures, there were several galleries of stacked paintings -from the museums of Munich. The living apartments on the third floor, -divested of their furnishings, were filled with stolen furniture, Louis -Quinze chairs, table and sofas and ornate Italian cabinets lined the -walls of rooms and corridors. They contrasted strangely with scenes from -the Wagner operas which King Ludwig had chosen as the theme for the mural -decorations. Only the gold-walled Throne Room and, on the floor above, -the lofty Fest-Saal, were devoid of loot. - -We proceeded to the wing of the castle which contained the records. -Having broken the seals and unlocked the door, we entered a hallway about -thirty feet long. The doors opening onto this hallway were also locked -and sealed. Behind them lay the offices of the _Einsatzstab Rosenberg_. -They were crowded with bookshelves and filing cabinets. In one room stood -a huge show-case filled with fragile Roman glass. The rooms of the second -floor were full of French furniture and dozens of small packing cases. -These cases were made of carefully finished quarter-sawed oak. We had -seen similar ones in the Göring collection. They had been the traveling -cases for precious objects belonging to the Rothschilds. These too -contained Rothschild treasures—exquisite bibelots of jade, agate, onyx -and jasper, and innumerable pieces of Oriental and European porcelain. - -At one end of the hallway were two rooms which had been used as a -photographic laboratory. We had brought Kress with us. Steve went off to -make arrangements to install his equipment, while Lamont and I calculated -the number of men we would need for the evacuation work the next morning. -We asked the major for twenty—two shifts of ten. - -The Neuschwanstein operation lasted eight days. We worked nights as well, -because there were thousands of small objects—many of them fragile and -extremely valuable—which we could not trust to the inexpert hands of -our work party. There was no electricity in the small storage rooms, so -we had to work by candlelight. It took us one evening to pack the Roman -glass and the four succeeding evenings, working till midnight, to pack -the two thousand pieces of gold and silver in the David-Weill collection. -The Nazi looters had thoughtfully saved the well-made cases in which -they had carted off this magnificent collection from M. David-Weill’s -house in Paris. There were candelabra, dishes, knives, forks, spoons, -snuffboxes—the rarest examples of the art of the French goldsmiths of -the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This unique collection had -created a sensation when it was exhibited in Paris a few years before -the war. The fact that the incomparable assemblage would probably one -day be left to the Louvre by the eminent connoisseur, who had spent a -lifetime collecting it, had not deterred the Nazi robbers. He was a Jew. -That justified its confiscation. Aside from the pleasure it gave me to -handle the beautiful objects, I relished the idea of helping to recover -the property of a fellow Californian: M. David-Weill had been born in -San Francisco. The Nazis had been methodical as usual. Every piece was -to have been systematically recatalogued while the collection was at -Neuschwanstein. On some of the shelves we found slips of paper stating -that this or that object had not yet been photographed—“_noch nicht -fotografiert_.” - -The tedious manual labor involved in packing small objects and the great -distance which the packed cases had to be carried when ready for loading -were the chief difficulties at Neuschwanstein. Not only did the cases -have to be carried several hundred feet from the storage rooms to the -door of the castle; but from the door to the trucks was a long trek, down -two flights of steps and across a wide courtyard. In this respect the -operation resembled the evacuation of the monastery at Hohenfurth. - -Three months after our partial evacuation of the castle, a team composed -of Captain Edward Adams, Lieutenant (jg) Charles Parkhurst, USNR, and -Captain Hubert de Brye, a French officer, completed the removal of the -loot. This gigantic undertaking required eight weeks. If I remember the -figures correctly, more than twelve thousand objects were boxed and -carted away. The cases were built in a carpenter shop set up in the -castle kitchens. One hundred and fifty truckloads were delivered to the -railroad siding at Füssen and thence transported to Paris. It was an -extraordinary achievement, carried out despite heavy snowfall. The only -operation which rivaled it was the evacuation of the salt mine at Alt -Aussee. - -The last morning of our stay at Füssen, Lamont and I had a special -mission to perform. A German art dealer named Gustav Rochlitz was living -at Gipsmühle, a five-minute drive from Hohenschwangau, the small village -below the castle. For a number of years Rochlitz had had a gallery in -Paris. His dealings with the Nazis, in particular his trafficking in -confiscated pictures, had been the subject of special investigation -by Lieutenants Plaut and Rousseau, our OSS friends. They were the two -American naval officers who were preparing an exhaustive report on the -activities of the infamous _Einsatzstab Rosenberg_. They had interrogated -Rochlitz and placed him under house arrest. In his possession were -twenty-two modern French paintings, including works by Dérain, Matisse -and Picasso, formerly belonging to well known Jewish collections. He had -obtained them from Göring and other leading Nazis in exchange for old -master paintings. We were to relieve Herr Rochlitz of these canvases. - -At the farmhouse in which Rochlitz and his wife were living, the maid -of all work who answered our knock said that no one was at home. Herr -Rochlitz would not be back before noon. Lamont and I returned to our jeep -and started back across the fields to the highway. We had driven about -a hundred yards when we saw a heavy-set sullen-faced man of about fifty -walking toward us. - -“I’ll bet that’s Rochlitz,” I said to Lamont. Stopping the car, I called -out to him, “Herr Rochlitz?” - -After a moment’s hesitation, he nodded. - -“Hop in, we want to have a talk with you,” I said. - -We returned to the farmhouse and followed our truculent host up the -stairs to a sitting room on the second floor. There we were joined by his -wife, a timid young woman who, like her husband, spoke fluent English. - -I said that we had come for the pictures. Rochlitz made no protest. He -brusquely directed his wife to bring them in. As she left the room, I -thought it odd that he hadn’t gone along to help her. But she returned -almost immediately with the paintings in her arms. All twenty-two were -rolled around a long mailing tube. Together they spread the canvases -about the room, on the table, on the chairs and on the floor. They were, -without exception, works of excellent quality. One large early Picasso, -the portrait of a woman and child, was alone worth a small fortune. - -I was wondering what Rochlitz had given in exchange for the lot, when he -began to explain how the pictures had come into his possession. He must -have taken us for credulous fools, because the story he told made him out -a victim of tragic circumstance. He said that Göring had made an offer on -several of his pictures. Rochlitz had accepted but insisted on being paid -in cash. Göring had agreed to the terms and the pictures were delivered. -Then, instead of paying in cash, Göring had forced him to accept these -modern paintings. He had protested, but to no avail. Of course these -pictures were all right in their way, he said deprecatingly, but he was -not a dealer in modern art. Naturally he did not know that they had been -confiscated. It was all a dreadful mistake, but what could he do? I said -that I realized how badly he must have felt and that I knew he would be -relieved to learn that the pictures were now going back to their rightful -owners. - -The pictures were carefully rerolled and we got up to leave. At the door, -Rochlitz told us that he had lost his entire stock. He had stored all of -his paintings at Baden-Baden, in the French Zone. Did we think he would -be able to recover them? We assured him that justice would be done and, -leaving him to interpret that remark as he saw fit, drove off with the -twenty-two pictures. - - - - -(9) - -_HIDDEN TREASURES AT NÜRNBERG_ - - -On our return to Munich that evening, Craig told us that preparations -were being made for the immediate restitution of several important -masterpieces recovered in the American Zone. General Eisenhower had -approved a proposal to return at once to each of the countries overrun -by the Germans at least one outstanding work of art. This was to be done -in his name, as a gesture of “token restitution” symbolizing American -policy with regard to ultimate restitution of all stolen art treasures to -the rightful owner nations. It was felt that the gracious gesture on the -part of the Commanding General of United States Forces in Europe would -serve to reaffirm our intentions to right the wrongs of Nazi oppression. -In view of the vast amount of art which had thus far been recovered, -it would be months before it could all be restored to the plundered -countries. Meanwhile these “token restitutions” would be an earnest of -American good will. They would be sent back from Germany at the expense -of the United States Government. Thereafter, representatives of the -various countries would be invited to come to our Collecting Points to -select, assemble and, in transportation of their own providing, remove -those objects which the Germans had stolen. - -Belgium was to receive the first token restitution. The great van Eyck -altarpiece—_The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb_—was the obvious choice -among the stolen Belgian treasures. - -The famous panels had been reposing in the Central Collecting Point at -Munich since we had removed them from the salt mine at Alt Aussee. A -special plane had been chartered to fly them to Brussels. The Belgian -Government had signified approval of air transportation. Direct rail -communication between Munich and Brussels had not been resumed, and the -highways were not in the best of condition. By truck, it would be a rough -two-day trip; by air, a matter of three hours. - -Bancel La Farge had already flown from Frankfurt to Brussels, where -plans had been made for an appropriate ceremony on the arrival of the -altarpiece. The American Ambassador was to present the panels to the -Prince Regent on behalf of General Eisenhower. It was to be an historic -occasion. - -I went out to the airport to confirm the arrangements for the C-54. It -was only a fifteen-minute drive from the Königsplatz to the field. I was -also to check on the condition of the streets: they were in good shape -all the way. - -The plane was to take off at noon. Lamont, Steve and I supervised the -loading of the ten precious cases. We led off in a jeep. The truck -followed with the panels. Four of the civilian packers went along to load -the cases onto the plane. Captain Posey was to escort the altarpiece to -Brussels. - -When we got to the airport we learned that the plane had not arrived. -There would be a two-hour delay. At the end of two hours, we were -informed that there was bad weather south of Brussels. All flights -had been canceled for the day. We drove back to the Collecting Point -at the Königsplatz and had just finished unloading the panels when a -message came from the field. The weather had cleared. The plane would -be taking off in half an hour. I caught Captain Posey as he was leaving -the building for his office at Third Army Headquarters. The cases were -reloaded and we were on our way to the field in fifteen minutes. - -The truck was driven onto the field where the big C-54 stood waiting. In -another quarter of an hour the panels were aboard and lashed securely -to metal supports in the forepart of the passenger compartment. Captain -Posey, the only passenger, waved jauntily as the doors swung shut. -Enviously we watched the giant plane roll down the field, lift waveringly -from the airstrip and swing off to the northwest. The altarpiece was on -the last lap of an extraordinary journey. We wished George Stout could -have been in on this. - -The plane reached Brussels without mishap. The return of the great -national treasure was celebrated throughout the country. Encouraged by -the success of this first “token restitution,” Major La Farge directed -that a similar gesture be made to France. At the Collecting Point Craig -selected seventy-one masterpieces looted from French private collections. -The group included Fragonard, Chardin, Lancret, Rubens, Van Dyck, Hals, -and a large number of seventeenth century Dutch masters. Only examples of -the highest quality were chosen. - -Ham Coulter, the naval officer who worked with Craig at the “Bau,” -was the emissary appointed to accompany the paintings to Paris. It -was decided to return them by truck, inasmuch as it would have been -impracticable to attempt shipping uncrated pictures by air. The convoy -consisted of two trucks—one for the pictures, the other for extra -gasoline. It was a hard two-day trip from Munich to Paris. Ham got -through safely, but reported on his return that the roads had been -extremely rough a good part of the way. He had delivered the pictures in -Paris to the Musée du Jeu de Paume, the little museum which the Germans -had used during the Occupation as the clearinghouse for their methodical -plundering of the Jewish collections. His expedition had been marred by -only one minor incident. When the paintings were being unloaded at the -museum, one of the women attendants watching the operation noticed that -some of the canvases were unframed. She had asked, “And where are the -frames?” This was too much for Coulter. In perfect French, the courteous -lieutenant told her precisely what she could do about the frames. - -Shortly after the return of the Ghent altarpiece, Captain Posey was -demobilized. His duties as MFA&A Officer at Third Army Headquarters in -Munich were assumed by Captain Edwin Rae. I had not seen Rae since the -early summer when he and Lieutenant Edith Standen had been assigned to -assist me in inventorying the collections of the Berlin museums in the -vaults of the Reichsbank at Frankfurt. Edwin was a meticulous fellow, -gentle but determined. Although by no means lacking in a sense of humor, -he resented joking references to a fancied resemblance to Houdon’s well -known portrait of Voltaire, and I didn’t blame him. - -He took on his new responsibilities with quiet assurance and in a -short time won the complete confidence of his superiors at Third Army -Headquarters. Throughout his long tenure of office, he maintained an -unruffled calm in the face of obstacles which would have exhausted a -less patient man. He was responsible for all matters pertaining to the -Fine Arts in the Eastern Military District of the American Zone—that is, -Bavaria—an area more than twice the size of the two provinces Greater -Hesse and Württemberg-Baden comprising the Western Military District of -our Zone. - -During the early days of Captain Rae’s regime, Charlie Kuhn paid a -brief visit to Munich. He had just completed the transfer of the Berlin -Museum collections from Frankfurt to the Landesmuseum at Wiesbaden. -The university buildings in Frankfurt—which I had requisitioned for a -Collecting Point—had proved unsuitable. The repairs, he said, would have -taken months. On the other hand, the Wiesbaden Museum, though damaged, -was ideal for the purpose. Of course there hadn’t been a glass left in -any of the windows, and the roof had had to be repaired. But thanks -to the energy and ingenuity of Walter Farmer, the building had been -rehabilitated in two months. Captain Farmer was the director of the new -Collecting Point. When I asked where Farmer had got the glass, Charlie -was evasive. All he would say was that Captain Farmer was “wise in the -ways of the Army.” - -Charlie was headed for Vienna to confer with Lieutenant Colonel Ernest -Dewald, Chief of the MFA&A Section at USFA Headquarters (United States -Forces, Austria). Colonel Dewald wanted to complete the evacuation of -the mine at Alt Aussee, which was now under his jurisdiction. For this -project he hoped to obtain the services of the officers who had worked -there when the mine had been Third Army’s responsibility. Captain Rae was -reluctant to lend the Special Evacuation Team, because there was still -so much work to be done in Bavaria. But he agreed, provided that Charlie -could sell the idea to the Chief of Staff at Third Army. This Charlie -succeeded in doing, and departed for Vienna a day later. Steve was crazy -to see Vienna—I think his parents had been born there—so Charlie took him -along. - -After they had left, Captain Rae requested Lamont and me to make an -inspection trip to northern Bavaria. Our first stop was Bamberg. There we -examined the _Neue Residenz_, which Rae contemplated establishing as an -auxiliary Collecting Point to house the contents of various repositories -in Upper Franconia. Reports reaching his office indicated that storage -conditions in that area were unsatisfactory. Either the repositories -were not weatherproof, or they were not being adequately guarded. - -It was also rumored that UNRRA was planning to fill the _Neue Residenz_ -with DPs—Displaced Persons. Captain Rae was determined to put a stop to -that, because the building, a fine example of late seventeenth century -architecture, was on the SHAEF List of Protected Monuments. This fact -should have guaranteed its immunity from such a hazard. Even during -combat, the SHAEF list had been a great protection to monuments of -historic and artistic importance. Now that no “doctrine of military -necessity” could be invoked to justify improper use of the building, Rae -did not propose to countenance its occupancy by DPs. - -The _Neue Residenz_ contained dozens of empty, brocaded rooms—but no -plumbing. We decided that it would do for a Collecting Point and agreed -with Rae that the DPs should be housed elsewhere if possible. The officer -from the local MG Detachment, who was showing us around, confirmed -the report that UNRRA intended to move in. He didn’t think they would -relinquish the building without a protest. The influx of refugees from -the Russian Zone had doubled the town’s normal population of sixty -thousand. - -It was a disappointment to find that the superb sculpture in the -cathedral across the square was still bricked up. The shelters had -proved a needless precaution, for Bamberg had not been bombed. Only the -bridge over the Regnitz had been blown up, and the Germans had done that -themselves. - -From Bamberg we drove north to Coburg, where we had a twofold mission. -First we were to obtain specific information about ten cases which -contained a collection of art objects belonging to a prince of Hesse. -The cases were said to be stored in Feste Coburg, the walled castle -above the town. If they were the property of Philip of Hesse, then they -would probably be taken into custody by the American authorities. We had -been told that he was in prison. His art dealings during the past few -years were being reviewed by the OSS officers charged with the special -investigation of Nazi art-looting activities. Philip was the son of the -Landgräfin of Hesse. It was in the flower-filled Waffenraum of her castle -near Frankfurt that I had seen the family tombs months before. - -If, on the other hand, the cases belonged to a different prince of -Hesse—one whose political record was clean—and storage conditions were -satisfactory, we would simply leave them where they were for the time -being. - -Our second objective was Schloss Tambach, a few kilometers from Coburg. -Paintings stolen by Frank, the Nazi Governor of Poland, from the palace -at Warsaw were stored there. Schloss Tambach also contained pictures -from the Stettin Museum. Stettin was now in the Russian Zone of Occupied -Germany. - -On our arrival in Coburg, Lamont and I drove to the headquarters of the -local MG Detachment, which were located in the Palais Edinburgh. This -unpretentious building was once the residence of Queen Victoria’s son, -the Duke of Edinburgh. There we arranged with Lieutenant Milton A. Pelz, -the Monuments officer of the Coburg Detachment, to inspect the storage -rooms at the castle. - -Pelz was a big fellow who spoke German fluently. He welcomed us -hospitably and took us up to the castle where we met Dr. Grundmann, who -had the keys to the storage rooms. This silent, sour-faced German was -curator of the Prince’s collections. He said that his employer was Prince -Ludwig of Hesse, a cousin of Philip. The cases contained paintings and -_objets d’art_ which had been in the possession of the family for years. -Grundmann had personally removed them from Ludwig’s estate in Silesia the -day before the Russians occupied the area. - -Ludwig’s most important treasure was the world-famous painting by Holbein -known as the _Madonna of Bürgermeister Meyer_. Painted in 1526, it had -hung for years in the palace at Darmstadt. The Dresden Gallery owned a -seventeenth century replica. Early in the war, Prince Ludwig had sent the -original to his Silesian castle for safekeeping. Grundmann had brought it -back to Bavaria along with the ten cases now at Coburg. From Coburg he -had taken the Holbein to Schloss Banz, a castle not far from Bamberg. - -He said that the Prince was living at Wolfsgarten, a small country place -near Darmstadt. Ludwig was eager to regain possession of the painting. -Did we think that could be arranged? We told him he would have to obtain -an authorization from Captain Rae at Munich. - -Schloss Tambach was a ten-minute drive from Coburg. This great country -house, built around three sides of a courtyard, belonged to the Countess -of Ortenburg. She occupied the center section. A detachment of troops was -billeted in one wing. The other was filled with the Stettin and Warsaw -pictures. There were over two hundred from the Stettin Museum. Nineteenth -century German paintings predominated, but I noticed two fine Hals -portraits and a Van Gogh landscape among them. - -The civilian custodian, answerable to the MG authorities at Coburg, was -Dr. Wilhelm Eggebrecht. He had been curator of the Stettin Museum until -thrown out by the Nazis because his wife was one-quarter Jewish. He was a -mousy little fellow with a bald head and gold-rimmed spectacles. He asked -apprehensively if we intended to send the paintings back to Russian-held -Stettin. We said that we had come only to check on the physical security -of the present storage place. So far as we knew, the paintings would -remain where they were for the present. This inconclusive piece of -information seemed to reassure him. - -The paintings looted from Warsaw were the _pièces de résistance_ of -the treasures at Schloss Tambach—especially the nine great canvases by -Bellotto, the eighteenth century Venetian master. Governor Frank had -ruthlessly removed the pictures from their stretchers and rolled them up -for shipment. As a result of this rough handling, the paint had flaked -off in places, but the damage was not serious. When we examined the -pictures, they were spread out on the floor. They filled two rooms, forty -feet square. Later they were taken to the Munich Collecting Point and -mounted on new stretchers, in preparation for their return to Warsaw. - -When we got back to Munich, Steve had returned from Vienna. He had news -for us. Charlie Kuhn had already left for Frankfurt. Colonel Dewald was -coming to Munich in a few days to talk to Colonel Roy Dalferes, Rae’s -Chief of Staff at Third Army, about reopening the Alt Aussee mine. Either -Charlie or Bancel would come down from USFET Headquarters when Dewald -arrived. A new man had joined the MFA&A Section at USFA—Andrew Ritchie, -director of the Buffalo Museum. He had come over as a civilian. Steve -thought that Ritchie would be the USFA representative at Munich. There -was a lot of stuff at the Collecting Point which would eventually go back -to Austria. It would have to be checked with the records there. That -would be Ritchie’s job. Steve told us also that Lincoln Kirstein had gone -home. His mother was seriously ill and Lincoln had left on emergency -orders. - -The three of us went to Captain Rae’s office. Lamont and I had to make -a report on our trip to Coburg. Rae had a new assignment for us. He -had just received orders from USFET Headquarters to prepare the Cracow -altarpiece for shipment. It was to be sent back to Poland as a token -restitution. This was the colossal carved altarpiece by Veit Stoss -which the Nazis had stolen from the Church of St. Mary at Cracow. Veit -Stoss had been commissioned by the King of Poland in 1477 to carve the -great work. It had taken him ten years. After the invasion of Poland in -1939, the Nazis had carted it off, lock, stock and barrel, to Nürnberg. -They contended that, since Veit Stoss had been a native of Nürnberg, it -belonged in the city of his birth. - -The missing altarpiece was the first of her looted treasures for which -Poland had registered a claim with the American authorities at the close -of the war. After months of diligent investigation, it was found by -American officers in an underground bunker across the street from the -Albrecht Dürer house in Nürnberg. In addition to the dismantled figures -of the central panel—painted and gilded figures of hollow wood ten -feet high—the twelve ornate side panels, together with the statues and -pinnacles surmounting the framework, had been crowded into the bunker. - -The same bunker contained another priceless looted treasure—the -coronation regalia of the Holy Roman Empire. Among these venerable -objects were the jeweled crown of the Emperor Conrad—commonly called -the “Crown of Charlemagne”—dating from the eleventh century, a shield, -two swords and the orb. Since 1804 they had been preserved in the -Schatzkammer, the Imperial Treasure Room, at Vienna. In 1938, the Nazis -removed them to Nürnberg, basing their claim to possession on a fifteenth -century decree of the Emperor Sigismund that they were to be kept in that -city. - -On the eve of the German collapse, two high officials of the city had -spirited away these five pieces. The credit for recovering the treasures -goes to an American officer of German birth, Lieutenant Walter Horn, -professor of art at the University of California. The two officials at -first disclaimed any knowledge of their whereabouts. After hours of -relentless grilling by Lieutenant Horn, the men finally admitted their -guilt. They were promptly tried, heavily fined and sent to prison. Three -months later, at the request of the Austrian Government, the imperial -treasures were flown back to Vienna. This historic shipment contained -other relics which the Nazis had taken from the Schatzkammer—relics of -the greatest religious significance. They included an alleged fragment of -the True Cross, a section of the tablecloth said to have been used at the -Last Supper, a lance venerated as the one which had touched the wounds of -Christ, and links from the chains traditionally believed to have bound -St. Peter, St. Paul and St. John. - -On Captain Rae’s instructions, Steve and I went to Nürnberg to pack the -Stoss altarpiece. (At that time the coronation regalia was still in the -bunker, where, on the afternoon of our arrival, we had an opportunity to -examine it.) We found that the heavy framework which supported the altar -panels was not stored in the bunker. Because of its size—the upright -pieces were thirty feet high—it had been taken to Schloss Wiesenthau, an -old castle outside Forchheim, thirty miles away. - -Leaving Steve to start packing the smaller figures and pinnacles, I got -hold of a semitrailer, the only vehicle long enough to accommodate a load -of such length. It was an hour’s drive to the castle. With a crew of -twenty PWs, I finished loading the framework in two hours and returned to -Nürnberg in time for supper. - -That evening Steve and I figured out the number of trucks we would need -for the altarpiece. Lamont had remained in Munich to make tentative -arrangements, pending word from us. He was going to ask for ten trucks -and we came to the conclusion that this would be about the right -number—in addition, of course, to the semitrailer for the supporting -framework. We got out our maps and studied our probable route to Cracow. -One road would take us through Dresden and Breslau; another by way of -Pilsen and Prague. Perhaps we could go one way and return the other. In -either case we would have to pass through Russian-occupied territory. -It would probably take some time to obtain the necessary clearances. We -figured on taking enough gas for the round trip, since we doubted if -there would be any to spare in Poland. Altogether it promised to be a -complicated expedition, but already we had visions of a triumphal entry -into Cracow. - -Our ambitious plans collapsed the following morning. While Steve and I -were at breakfast, I was called to the telephone. The corporal in Captain -Rae’s office was on the wire. I was to return to Munich at once. Major La -Farge was arriving from Frankfurt and wanted to see me that night. Plans -for the trip to Cracow were indefinitely postponed. Internal conditions -in Poland were too unsettled to risk returning the altarpiece. - -Our plans had miscarried before, but this was our first major -disappointment. We had begun to look on the Polish venture as the fitting -climax of our work as a Special Evacuation Team. On the way back to -Munich, Steve said he had a feeling that the team was going to be split -up. - -Steve’s misgivings were prophetic. At Craig’s apartment after dinner, -Bancel La Farge outlined the plans he had for us. Colonel Dalferes -had acceded to Colonel Dewald’s request. Lamont, Steve and a third -officer—new to MFA&A work—were to resume the evacuation of the salt mine -at Alt Aussee. If the snows held off, it would be possible to carry on -operations there for another month or six weeks. - -I was to return to USFET Headquarters at Frankfurt as Deputy Chief of the -MFA&A Section, replacing Charlie Kuhn who had just received his orders -to go home. I knew that Charlie would soon be eligible for release from -active duty, but had no idea that his departure was so imminent. - -We didn’t have much to say to one another on the way to our quarters -that night. Steve had already made up his mind that he wasn’t going to -like the new man. Lamont said that he thought it was going to be an -awful anticlimax to reopen the mine. And for me, the prospect of routine -administrative work at USFET was uninviting. After three months of -strenuous and exciting field work, it wouldn’t be easy to settle down in -an office. All three of us felt that the great days were over. - -During our last week together in Munich we had little time to feel sorry -for ourselves. Everyone was preoccupied with the restitution program. -We had our full share of the work. Another important shipment was to be -made to Belgium. It was to include the Michelangelo Madonna, the eleven -paintings stolen from the church in Bruges when the statue was taken, and -the four panels by Dirk Bouts from the famous altarpiece in the church -of St. Pierre at Louvain. These panels, which formed the wings of the -altarpiece, had been removed by the Germans in August 1942. Before the -first World War one wing had been in the Berlin Gallery, the other in the -Alte Pinakothek at Munich. As in the case of the Ghent altarpiece, they -had been restored—unjustly, according to the Germans—to Belgium by the -Versailles Treaty. - -This shipment to Belgium represented the first practical application of -the “come and get it” theory of restitution, evolved by Major La Farge. -Belgium had already received the Ghent altarpiece as token restitution. -Now it was up to the Belgians to carry on at their own expense. The -special representatives who came down from Brussels to supervise this -initial shipment were Dr. Paul Coremans, a great technical expert, and -Lieutenant Pierre Longuy of the Ministry of Fine Arts. They had their own -truck but had been unable to bring suitable packing materials. We had an -ample supply of pads and blankets which we had stored at the Collecting -Point after our evacuation of the Göring collection. We placed them -at the disposal of the Belgians. But it was Saturday and no civilian -packers were available. Dr. Coremans gratefully accepted the offer of our -services. Steve, Lamont and I loaded the truck. It was the last operation -of the Special Evacuation Team. - -The Belgians had no sooner departed than the French and Dutch -representatives arrived. Captain Hubert de Brye for France looked more -like a sportsman than a scholar; but he was a man of wide cultivation and -had a sense of humor which endeared him to his associates in Munich. He -and Ham Coulter were kindred spirits and became great friends. - -Ham, who had been responsible for the rehabilitation of both the -Collecting Point and the Führerbau, now had two assistants—Captain George -Lacy and Dietrich Sattler, the latter a German architect. Through this -division of the work, Ham found time for new duties: he took the foreign -representatives in tow, arranged for their billets, their mess cards, -their PX rations and so on. It was an irritating but not a thankless job, -for the recipients of his attentions were devoted to their “wet nurse.” - -[Illustration: The Albrecht Dürer house at Nürnberg—before and after the -German collapse. In an underground bunker across the street were stored -the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire and the famous Veit Stoss -altarpiece.] - -[Illustration: The Veit Stoss altarpiece from the Church of Our Lady in -Cracow, which was carried off by the Nazis at the beginning of the war, -has been returned to Poland. _Left_, open; _right_, closed.] - -The Dutch representative was Lieutenant Colonel Alphonse Vorenkamp. He -was a little man with gray hair, shrewd gray eyes and steel-rimmed -spectacles. An eminent authority on Dutch painting, he had been for -several years a member of the faculty at Smith College. He enjoyed the -unusual distinction of having served in both the American and Dutch -Armies during the present war. - -I had met him in San Francisco in 1944, shortly after his discharge -from the service. He had been a buck private; and I gathered from the -story of his experiences that our Army had released him in self-defense. -He told me that he often had difficulty in understanding the drill -sergeant. Once, without thinking he had stepped out of formation and -asked politely, “Sergeant, would you mind repeating that last order!” -Vorenkamp said that he had paid dearly for his indiscretion, so dearly in -fact that he had seriously considered changing his name from Alphonse to -Latrinus. Alphonse, he said, was a ridiculous name for a Dutchman anyway. -He preferred to be called Phonse. - -Released from the Army, he had gone back to his teaching. Then, only -a few months ago, the Dutch Government had requested his services in -connection with the restitution of looted art. They had offered him a -lieutenant-colonelcy and he had accepted. - -The Dutch, as well as the British and French, had made a practice -of conferring upon qualified civilians ranks consistent with the -responsibilities of given jobs. Our government’s failure to do -likewise—so far as the art program was concerned—resulted in a disparity -in rank which frequently placed American MFA&A personnel at a great -disadvantage. - -Of all the foreign representatives, none served his country more -zealously than Phonse Vorenkamp. Throughout the fall and winter months, -his convoys shuttled back and forth between Munich and Amsterdam. When I -last heard from him—in the late spring—he had restored to Holland more -than nine hundred paintings, upward of two thousand pieces of sculpture, -porcelain and glass, along with truckloads of tapestries, rugs and -furniture. - -I left Munich on a rainy morning at the end of September. Lamont and -Steve were planning to depart for Alt Aussee at the same time. The -three of us had agreed to meet in front of the Collecting Point at -eight-thirty. I was a few minutes late and when I got there the guard at -the entrance said they had already gone. I hadn’t felt so forlorn since -the day Craig and I had parted in Bad Homburg months before. As I started -down the steps to the command car, Phonse Vorenkamp called from the -doorway. He had come to work a little earlier than usual, just to see me -off. He was full of waspish good humor, joked about the magnificence of -my new job in Frankfurt, and promised to look me up when he came through -with his first convoy. The driver stepped on the starter and, as we -rounded the corner into the Brienner-Strasse, Phonse waved us on our way. - - - - -(10) - -_MISSION TO AMSTERDAM; THE WIESBADEN MANIFESTO_ - - -I reported to Major La Farge upon arrival. Since my visit to Frankfurt -with Lamont and Steve six weeks before, there had been several changes -in the MFA&A Section. With the removal to Berlin of the Monuments -officers attached to the U. S. Group Control Council, our office at USFET -Headquarters in Frankfurt had been transferred to Höchst. The move was -logical enough because we were part of the Restitution Control Branch -of the Economics Division, which was located there. For all practical -purposes, however, we would have been better off in Frankfurt, since our -work involved daily contacts with other divisions—all located at the main -headquarters. - -The Höchst office was a barnlike room, some thirty feet square, on -the second floor of the Exposition Building. It required considerable -ingenuity to find the room, for it was tucked in behind a row of -laboratories occupied by white-coated German civilians, former employees -of I. G. Farben, who were now working for the American Military -Government. At one end of the room were desks for the Chief and Deputy -Chief. The rest of the furniture consisted of four long work tables and -two small file cabinets. The staff was equally meager—Major La Farge, -Lieutenant Edith Standen, Corporal James Reeds and a German civilian -stenographer. - -The first few days were a period of intensive indoctrination. The morning -I arrived, Bancel defined the relationship between our office and the one -at Berlin; and between us and the two districts of the American Zone—the -Eastern District, which was under Third Army, and the Western District, -under Seventh Army. He described the Berlin office as the final authority -in determining policy. In theory, if not always in fact, a given policy -was adopted only after an exchange of views between the Frankfurt-Höchst -office and the one in Berlin. The activation of policy was our function. -USFET—that is, our office—was an operational headquarters. Berlin was not. - -And how did we activate policy? By means of directives. Directives to -whom? To Third Army at Munich and Seventh Army at Heidelberg. That -sounded simple enough, until Bancel explained that a directive was not -exactly an imperial decree. Just as it was our prerogative to activate -policies approved by Berlin, so it was the prerogative of the Armies to -implement our directives as they deemed expedient. He reminded me that -the two Armies were independent and autonomous within their respective -areas. In other words, we could tell them _what_ to do, but not _how_ -to do it. Bancel was an old hand at writing directives, knowing how to -give each phrase just the right emphasis. At first the longer ones seemed -stilted and occasionally ambiguous. But I was not accustomed to military -jargon. Later I came to realize that Army communications always sounded -stilted; and what I had mistaken for ambiguity was often deliberate -circumlocution, calculated to soften the force of an unpalatable order. - -Bancel said there were more important things to worry about than the -composition of directives. One was the problem of token restitutions. He -was sorry to postpone the one to Poland, but that couldn’t be helped. -Now that France and Belgium had received theirs, Holland was next on the -list. The ceremony in Brussels had made a great hit. He thought a similar -affair might be arranged at The Hague. Vorenkamp was selecting a group of -pictures at the Collecting Point. We would provide a plane to fly them -to Amsterdam. Captain Rae was to notify our office as soon as Vorenkamp -was ready to leave—probably within the next two days. In the meantime -Bancel was having orders cut for me to go to Holland. I was to see the -American ambassador, explain the idea of these token restitutions, and -sound him out on the subject of planning a ceremony similar to the one -our ambassador had arranged in Brussels. Colonel Anthony Biddle, Chief of -the Allied Contacts Section at USFET Headquarters, had promised Bancel -to write a letter of introduction for me to take to The Hague. Bancel -suggested that I make tentative arrangements with the motor pool for a -car and driver. - -It was almost noon and Bancel had an appointment in Frankfurt at -twelve-thirty. He just had time to catch the bus. After he left, Reeds -and the stenographer went out to lunch, so Edith Standen and I had the -office to ourselves. We had a lot to talk over, as I had not seen her -since June when we worked together on the inventory of the Berlin Museum -collections at the Reichsbank. - -In the meantime, she had been stationed at Höchst. When the Group CC -outfit—to which she was officially attached—moved to Berlin, she had -preferred to remain with the USFET office. On the Organizational Chart -of the MFA&A Section, Edith was listed as the “Officer in Charge of -Technical Files.” Actually she was in charge of a great many other things -as well. When the Chief and Deputy Chief were away from headquarters at -the same time—and they often were—Edith took over the affairs of the -Section. She must have been born with these remarkable administrative -gifts, for she could have had little opportunity to develop them as the -cloistered curator of the Widener Collection where, as she said herself, -she was “accustomed to the silent padding of butlers and the spontaneous -appearance of orchids and gardenias among the Rembrandts and the -Raphaels.” - -I asked her if there had been any new developments regarding the proposed -removal of German-owned art to the United States. Yes, there had been. -But nothing conclusive. There was a cable from General Clay to the War -Department early in September.[3] The cable spoke of “holding German -objects of art in trust for eventual return to the German people.” But -it didn’t contain the clause “if and when the German nation had earned -the right to their return” which had appeared in the original document. -Besides the cable, there had been a communication from Berlin asking for -an estimate of the cubic footage in art repositories of the American -Zone. It was a question impossible to answer accurately. But Bancel and -Charlie had figured out a reply, citing the approximate size of one of -the repositories and leaving it up to Berlin to multiply the figures -by the total number in the entire zone. Now that John Nicholas Brown -and Charlie Kuhn were back in the United States, they might be able to -discourage the projected removal. I had only one piece of information to -contribute on the subject: a letter from George Stout saying that he had -been asked by the Roberts Commission to give an opinion, based on purely -technical grounds, of the risk involved in sending paintings to America. -He did so, stating that to remove them would _cube_ the risk of leaving -them in Germany. - -When Corporal Reeds returned to the office, Edith and I went across the -street to the Officers’ Mess. While we were at lunch, she told me that -Jim Reeds had been a discovery of George’s. He had been with George and -Bancel at their office in Wiesbaden. Jim was a tall, serious fellow with -sandy hair and a turned-up nose. Edith said that he had been a medical -student before the war and that he came from Missouri. There was so much -paper work to do in the office that he never got caught up. The German -typist was slow and inaccurate. Jim had to do over nearly half the -letters he gave her to copy. But his patience was inexhaustible and he -never complained. - -Bancel didn’t get back from Frankfurt until late in the afternoon. The -return of the Veit Stoss altarpiece had come up again and he had had a -long talk about it with the Polish liaison officer at USFET, who was a -nephew of the Archbishop of Cracow. After that he had had a session with -Colonel A. J. de la Bretesche, the French liaison officer. And, for good -measure, he had to take up the problem of clearance for the two Czech -representatives who would be arriving in a few days. He said wearily -that practically all of his days were like that, now that restitution -was going full speed ahead. I told him that I had had an uneventful -but profitable afternoon, going through the correspondence which had -accumulated on his desk. There had been several telephone calls, among -them one from Colonel Walter Kluss. Bancel said he would answer that one -in person, as he wanted to introduce me to the colonel, who was chief of -the Restitution Control Branch. Restitution involved settling the claims -of the occupied countries for everything the Germans had taken from -them. These claims covered every conceivable kind of property—factory -equipment, vehicles, barges, machinery, racehorses, livestock, household -furniture, etc. - -The colonel’s office was at the end of the corridor. On our way down the -hall, Bancel said that the Army could do with a few more officers like -Colonel Kluss. This observation didn’t give me a very clear picture of -the colonel, but when I met him I knew what Bancel meant. There was an -unassuming friendliness and simplicity about him that I didn’t usually -associate with full colonels. His interest in the activities of the MFA&A -Section was genuine and personal. He was particularly fond of Bancel and -Edith and, during our visit with him that afternoon, spoke admiringly of -the work which they and Charlie Kuhn had done. While other sections of -the Restitution Control Branch were still generalizing about restitution, -the MFA&A Section had tackled the problem realistically. It wasn’t a -question of mapping out a program which might work. The program _did_ -work. The wisdom and foresight of Bancel’s planning appealed to the -practical side of Colonel Kluss’ nature and, throughout the months of our -association with him, he was never too busy to help us when we went to -him with our troubles. - -Bancel and I took the seven o’clock bus over to Frankfurt that evening. -We had dinner at the Officers’ Mess in the Casino behind USFET -Headquarters. We were joined there by Lieutenant William Lovegrove, -the officer whom Bancel had selected as our representative at Paris in -connection with the restitution of looted art works to the French. With -the arrival of the French representative in Munich, regular shipments -would soon be departing for France. Their destination in Paris was to -be the Musée du Jeu de Paume, which was now the headquarters of the -_Commission de Récupération Artistique_, the commission composed of -officials from the French museums charged with the task of sorting and -distributing the plundered treasures. Among the officials selected to -assist in this work was Captain Rose Valland, the courageous Frenchwoman -who, as I mentioned earlier, had spied on the Nazi thieves in that same -museum during the Occupation. - -We had roughly estimated that it would require from three to six months -to send back the main bulk of the French loot from Germany. Mass -evacuation, as I have mentioned before, had the advantage of accelerating -restitution. It had the disadvantage of rendering difficult our procedure -of evaluating and photographing objects before they were returned. It -was our intention that Lieutenant Lovegrove should obtain the desired -photographs and appraisals. American military establishments in France -were being drastically reduced, but we planned to attach him to the USFET -Mission to France. We had been told that the Mission would be withdrawn -in the early spring. If Lovegrove’s work weren’t finished by that time, -Bancel thought it might be possible to attach him to our Paris Embassy -when the Mission folded. - -When Bancel introduced me to Lovegrove that evening at the Casino, I -thought he would be very much at home in an embassy. He was of medium -height, bald, had a pink and white complexion and wore a small mustache. -He was self-possessed without being blasé. Lovegrove was a sculptor and -had lived in Paris for many years before the war. Bancel said that he -spoke a more perfect French than most Frenchmen. - -Subsequent developments proved the wisdom of Bancel’s choice. Lovegrove -was exceedingly popular with his French associates at the Musée du Jeu de -Paume. His extraordinary tact and his capacity for hard work were equally -remarkable. - -I particularly remember our last meeting. It was in February, when I -was stopping briefly in Paris on my way home from Germany. By that time -hundreds of carloads of stolen art had been received at the Jeu de -Paume. There were one or two final matters which I wished to take up with -M. Henraux and M. Dreyfus, members of the _Commission de Récupération -Artistique_. When Lovegrove and I arrived at the museum, we found -these two charming, elderly gentlemen in their office. With them was -M. David-Weill. He was examining a fine gold snuffbox. The office was -littered with gold and silver objects. They were part of the fabulous -collection which Lamont, Steve and I had packed by candlelight in the -Castle of Neuschwanstein six months before. - -During the second week of October, I left for Amsterdam. It was a -three-hundred-mile drive from Frankfurt. Cassidy, the driver of the jeep, -was a New Jersey farm boy who, unlike most drivers, preferred long trips -to short local runs. The foothills of the Taunus Mountains were bright -with fall coloring along the back road to Limburg. From there we turned -west to the Rhine. Then, skirting the east bank of the river, we crossed -over into the British Zone at Cologne. From Cologne—where we lunched at -a British mess—our road led through Duisburg, Wesel and the skeleton of -Emerich. - -We crossed the Dutch frontier at five and continued through battered -Arnhem to Utrecht. Utrecht was full of exuberant Canadians. I stopped -at the headquarters of the local Town Major to inquire about a mess for -transient officers. A friendly lieutenant, a blonde Dutch girl on his -arm, was on his way to supper and suggested that I join them. He said -that Cassidy could eat at a Red Cross Club. - -The dining room in the officers’ hotel was noisy and crowded. Most of the -officers, the lieutenant explained, were going home in a few days. It was -good to be in a city which, superficially at least, showed no scars of -battle. - -We reached Amsterdam about nine-thirty. At night the canals were -confusing. Cassidy and I looked in vain for the Town Major. Finally we -found a Canadian “leave hotel.” The enlisted man on duty at the desk -dispensed with the formality of the billet permit I should have obtained -from the Town Major, and assigned us rooms on the same floor. Cassidy -decided that the Canadians were a democratic outfit. - -Bancel had instructed me to inform the Dutch Restitution Commission, -known as the “C.G.R.,” that Lieutenant Colonel Vorenkamp was scheduled -to reach Amsterdam at noon on the day following my arrival, so the next -morning I went to the headquarters of the commission to deliver Major -La Farge’s message. The commission occupied the stately old Goudstikker -house on the Heerengracht. Before the war, Goudstikker had been a great -Dutch art dealer. In the galleries of this house had been held many -fine exhibitions of Dutch painting. During the German Occupation of the -Netherlands, an unscrupulous Nazi named Miedl had “acquired” the entire -Goudstikker stock from the dealer’s widow. We had found many of the -Goudstikker pictures at Alt Aussee and in the Göring collection. - -Bancel had told me to ask for Captain Robert de Vries. I was informed -that the captain was in London. In his stead Nicolaes Vroom, his -scholarly young deputy, received me. He had had no word of Colonel -Vorenkamp’s impending arrival. Vroom transmitted the message immediately -to Jonkheer Roel, director of the Rijksmuseum. Twenty minutes later, -this distinguished gentleman appeared in Vroom’s office. With him were -Lieutenant Colonel H. Polis and Captain ter Meer, both of whom were -attached to the C.G.R. They were delighted to know about the plane which -I told them was due at Schiphol Airport. Telephonic connections with -Munich had not yet been re-established. They had to depend on the USFET -Mission at The Hague for transmission of all messages from the American -Zone. It often took days for a telegram to get through. - -There was barely time enough to telephone for a truck to meet the plane. -Also Mr. van Haagen, Permanent Secretary of Education and Science, -must be notified at once. I was told that he would accompany us to the -airport. In another hour we were all on our way to Schiphol. - -We waited two hours at the field and still no sign of the plane from -Munich. The weather was fine at the airport, but there were reports of -heavy fog to the south. At two o’clock we returned to Amsterdam and -lunched at the Dutch officers’ mess. My hosts apologized for the food. -They said that they no longer received British Army rations. The menu -was prepared from civilian supplies. It was a Spartan diet—cheese, bread -and jam, and weak coffee. But they shared it so hospitably that only a -graceless guest would have complained of the lack of variety. Captain ter -Meer said that it was more palatable than the tulip bulbs he had lived on -the winter before. - -After lunch, Cassidy and I drove to the USFET Mission at The Hague. -Colonel Ira W. Black, Chief of the Mission, arranged for me to see the -American ambassador. The temporary offices of our embassy were located in -a tall brick building on the edge of the city. - -I presented Colonel Biddle’s letter to Mr. Stanley Hornbeck, the -ambassador, who looked more like a successful businessman than a -diplomat. He frowned as he read, and when he had finished, said gruffly, -“Commander, Tony Biddle is a charming fellow and I am very fond of him. -I’d like to be obliging, but we’ve had too damn many celebrations and -ceremonies in this country already. We need more hard work instead of -more holidays. It’s very nice about the pictures coming back, but steel -mills and machinery would be a lot more welcome.” - -I hadn’t expected this reaction and, having had little experience with -ambassadors—irascible or otherwise—I hardly knew what to say. After an -embarrassing pause, I ventured the remark that a very simple ceremony -would be enough. - -After his first outburst, the ambassador relented to the extent of saying -he’d think it over. As I left his office, he called after me, “My bark’s -worse than my bite.” - -On my way back to Amsterdam, I concluded unhappily that as a diplomatic -errand boy I was a washout. I’d better go back to loading trucks. - -When I reached the hotel I found a message that the plane with Vorenkamp -and the pictures had arrived. I met Phonse the following morning at -the Goudstikker house. He introduced me to Lieutenant Hans Jaffé, a -Dutch Monuments officer, who bore a striking resemblance to Robert -Louis Stevenson. Several weeks later Jaffé was chosen as the Dutch -representative for the Western District of the American Zone. His work -at Seventh Army Headquarters in Heidelberg was comparable to that of -Vorenkamp’s in Munich. He was intelligent and industrious. During the -next few months he was as successful in his investigations of looted -Dutch art works as Phonse was in Bavaria. Jaffé didn’t reap so rich a -harvest, but that was only because there was less loot in his territory. - -He and Phonse took me to the Rijksmuseum where the twenty-six paintings -from Munich were being unpacked. They were a hand-picked group consisting -mainly of seventeenth century Dutch masters, which included four -Rembrandts. One of the Rembrandts was the _Still Life with Dead Peacocks_ -which Lamont and I had taken out of the mine at Alt Aussee. There was -a twenty-seventh picture: it was the fraudulent Vermeer of the Göring -collection. Phonse had brought it back to be used as evidence against its -author, the notorious Van Meegeren. - -The Rijksmuseum was holding a magnificent exhibition, appropriately -entitled “The Return of the Old Masters.” Among the one hundred and forty -masterpieces, which had been stored in underground shelters for the -past five years, were six Vermeers, nine paintings by Frans Hals, and -seventeen Rembrandts, including the famous _Night Watch_. - -That evening Phonse took Cassidy and me to the country place occupied -by the officers of the C.G.R. It was called “Oud Bussum” and was near -Naarden, about fifteen miles from Amsterdam. The luxurious house had been -the property of a well known Dutch collaborator. Many high-ranking Nazis -had been entertained there. As a mark of special favor I was given the -suite which had been used by Göring. - -At dinner I sat between Colonel W. C. Posthumus-Meyjes, Chief of the -Restitution Commission, and Phonse Vorenkamp. The colonel, to the -regret of his associates, was soon to relinquish his duties in order to -accept an important diplomatic post in Canada. Toward the end of the -meal, Phonse asked me how I had made out with the ambassador. I gave a -noncommittal reply. He looked at me shrewdly through his steel-rimmed -spectacles and said, “We would not expect your ambassador to arrange a -ceremony. That is for us to do. It is for us to express our gratitude to -General Eisenhower.” - -(Phonse was as good as his word. A few weeks later, officials of the -Netherlands Government arranged a luncheon in one of the rooms of the -Rijksmuseum. It was the first affair of its kind in the history of -the museum. Only the simplest food was served, but the table was set -with rare old silver, porcelain and glass. Colonel Kluss and Bancel -represented USFET Headquarters. I was told that no one enjoyed himself -more than the American ambassador.) - -The next morning Phonse suggested that I return with him in the plane. He -had it entirely to himself except for the empty packing cases which he -was taking back to Munich. He said that the slight detour to Frankfurt -could be easily arranged. So I sent Cassidy back in the jeep and at noon -Phonse and I—sole occupants of the C-47 which had been chartered in the -name of General Eisenhower—took off from Schiphol Airport. An hour and -twenty minutes later we landed at Frankfurt. - -Before the end of October, a token restitution was made to -Czechoslovakia. The objects chosen were the famous fourteenth century -Hohenfurth altarpiece and the collections of the Army Museum at Prague. -Both had been stolen by the Nazis. The altarpiece, evacuated from the Alt -Aussee mine, was now at the Central Collecting Point in Munich. The Army -Museum collections were stored at Schloss Banz, near Bamberg. Lieutenant -Colonel František Vrečko and Captain Egon Suk, as representatives of -the Czech Government, were invited to USFET Headquarters. We arranged -for them to proceed from there to Schloss Banz, where they were met by -Lieutenant Walter Horn. I have mentioned Horn before as the Monuments -officer whose remarkable sleuthing resulted in recovery of the five -pieces of the coronation regalia at Nürnberg. While the Czech officers -were en route, we directed Captain Rae at Third Army to arrange for the -delivery of the Hohenfurth panels to Schloss Banz. Captain Rae, in turn, -designated Lieutenant Commander Coulter to transport them from Munich. -(Both Ham Coulter and I had received our additional half-stripe earlier -in the month.) This joint operation was carried out successfully and, -in succeeding months, restitution to Czechoslovakia became a matter of -routine shipments at regular intervals. - -Also before the end of October, we became involved again in the -complicated problem of the Veit Stoss altarpiece. Major Charles -Estreicher was selected as the Polish representative. The major spent -several days at our office in Höchst studying our files for additional -data on Polish loot in the American Zone before continuing to Munich and -Nürnberg. Because of the condition of the roads, the actual return of the -altarpiece as a token restitution to Poland was delayed until the early -spring. - -While we were in the midst of these negotiations Bancel conferred with -Colonel Hayden Smith at USFET headquarters in Frankfurt on the subject -of the proposed removal of German-owned works of art to the United -States. Colonel Smith was Chief of Staff to Major General C. L. Adcock, -Deputy Director of the office of military government, U. S. Zone. Bancel -impressed upon the colonel the practical difficulties involved and -stressed the _technical_, not the moral objections to shipping valuable -works of art to America. As a result of this conference the colonel asked -Bancel to prepare a memorandum on the subject for submission to his chief. - -The finished memorandum which Edith and I helped Bancel prepare followed -the general pattern of a staff study—a statement of the “problem” with -specific suggestions relating to its solution. It contained an eloquent -plea for the importation of additional MFA&A personnel to assume -responsibility for the project and called attention to acute shortages -in packing materials and transportation facilities. It also pointed out -that the advisability of moving fragile objects across the ocean would be -balanced against the advantages of leaving them in the Central Collecting -Points, all three of which had been made weatherproof months before and -were now provided with sufficient coal to prevent deterioration of the -objects during the winter months. - -Nothing came of our recommendations. Within two weeks, Colonel Harry -McBride, administrator of the National Gallery in Washington, arrived -in Berlin to expedite the first shipment. He flew down to Frankfurt two -days later to discuss ways and means with Major La Farge. We learned -from him that General Clay’s recommendation for immediate removal had -been approved by the highest national authority. The General was now -in Washington. The futility of protest was obvious. Bancel told the -colonel that our Monuments officers were strongly opposed to the project. -He said that some of them might request transfer rather than comply -with the order. The colonel replied that such requests would, in all -probability, be refused. The only other alternative—open defiance of the -order—could have but one consequence, a court-martial. And, assuming -that our officers elected to face court-martial, what would be gained? -Nothing, according to the colonel; the order would still be carried out. -If trained MFA&A personnel were not available, then the work would have -to be done by such officers and men as might be obtainable, experienced -or not. Bancel realized that his primary duty was the “protection and -salvage” of art works. If he deliberately left them at the mercy of -whatever troops might be available to do the packing, then he would be -guilty of dereliction of duty. This interpretation afforded him some -consolation. - -As Bancel had predicted, our Monuments officers lost no time in -registering their disapproval. They expressed their sentiments as -follows: - - U. S. FORCES, EUROPEAN THEATER[4] GERMANY - - 7 November 1945 - - 1. We, the undersigned Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives - Specialist Officers of the Armed Forces of the United States, - wish to make known our convictions regarding the transportation - to the United States of works of art, the property of German - institutions or nationals, for purposes of protective custody. - - 2. a. We are unanimously agreed that the transportation of - those works of art, undertaken by the United States Army, upon - direction from the highest national authority, establishes a - precedent which is neither morally tenable nor trustworthy. - - b. Since the beginning of United States participation in the - war, it has been the declared policy of the Allied Forces, so - far as military necessity would permit, to protect and preserve - from deterioration consequent upon the processes of war, all - monuments, documents, or other objects of historic, artistic, - cultural, or archaeological value. The war is at an end and no - doctrine of “military necessity” can now be invoked for the - further protection of the objects to be moved, for the reason - that depots and personnel, both fully competent for their - protection, have been inaugurated and are functioning. - - c. The Allied nations are at present preparing to prosecute - individuals for the crime of sequestering, under pretext of - “protective custody,” the cultural treasures of German-occupied - countries. A major part of the indictment follows upon the - reasoning that even though these individuals were acting under - military orders, the dictates of a higher ethical law made it - incumbent upon them to refuse to take part in, or countenance, - the fulfillment of these orders. We, the undersigned, feel it - our duty to point out that, though as members of the armed - forces, we will carry out the orders we receive, we are thus - put before any candid eyes as no less culpable than those whose - prosecution we affect to sanction. - - 3. We wish to state that from our own knowledge, no historical - grievance will rankle so long, or be the cause of so much - justified bitterness, as the removal, for any reason, of a - part of the heritage of any nation, even if that heritage be - interpreted as a prize of war. And though this removal may be - done with every intention of altruism, we are none the less - convinced that it is our duty, individually and collectively, - to protest against it, and that though our obligations are to - the nation to which we owe allegiance, there are yet further - obligations to common justice, decency, and the establishment - of the power of right, not might, among civilized nations. - -This document was drafted and signed by a small group of Monuments -officers at the Central Collecting Point in Wiesbaden. Before being -submitted to Major La Farge for whatever action he deemed appropriate, -it was signed by twenty-four of the thirty-two Monuments officers in the -American Zone. The remaining eight chose either to submit individual -letters expressing similar views, or orally to express like sentiments. -The document came to be known as the “Wiesbaden Manifesto.” Army -regulations forbade the publication of such a statement; hence its -submission to Major La Farge as Chief of the MFA&A Section. - -Further protests against the policy which prompted the Wiesbaden -Manifesto appeared in the United States a few months later. The action -of our Government was sharply criticized and vigorously defended in the -press. Letters to and from the State Department and a petition submitted -to the President concerning the issue appear in the Appendix to this book. - -Preparations for the shipment—appropriately nicknamed “Westward Ho”—took -precedence over all other activities of the MFA&A office during the -next three weeks. Its size was determined soon after Colonel McBride’s -arrival. General Clay cabled from Washington requesting this information -and the shipping date. After hastily consulting us, our Berlin office -replied that two hundred paintings could be made ready for removal within -ten days. - -The next problem was to decide how the selection was to be made. Should -the pictures be chosen from the three Central Collecting Points—Munich, -Wiesbaden and Marburg? Time was short. It would be preferable to take -them from one depot. Wiesbaden was decided upon. Quality had been -stressed. The best of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum pictures were at -Wiesbaden. - -The decision to confine the selection to the one Central Collecting -Point had the additional advantage of avoiding the disruption of MFA&A -work at the other two depots, Munich and Marburg. Craig Smyth had long -been apprehensive about “Westward Ho,” feeling that any incursion on the -Bavarian State Collections would be disastrous to his organization at the -Munich Collecting Point. He said that his entire staff of non-Nazi museum -specialists would walk out. This would seriously impede the restitution -program in the Eastern Military District. - -So far as Marburg was concerned, I had been in the office the day Bancel -told Walker Hancock of the decision to take German-owned works of art to -America. Walker looked at Bancel as though he hadn’t understood him. Then -he said simply, “In that case I can’t go back to Marburg. Everything that -we were able to accomplish was possible because I had the confidence of -certain people. I can’t go back and tell them that I have betrayed them.” - -And he hadn’t gone back to Marburg. Instead he went to Heidelberg for -two days without telling anyone where he was going. When he finally -returned, it was only to close up his work at Marburg, in the course of -which he undertook to explain as best he could to Professor Hamann, the -distinguished old German scholar with whom he had been associated, the -decision concerning the removal of the pictures. “I quoted the official -statement,” Walker said, “about the paintings being held in trust for the -German people and added that there was no reason to doubt it. Very slowly -he said, ‘If they take our old art, we must try to create a fine new -art.’ Then, after a long pause, he added,’I never thought they would take -them.’” - -Once it had been decided to limit selection of the paintings to the -Wiesbaden Collecting Point, there arose the question of appointing an -officer properly qualified to handle the job. It called for speed, -discrimination and an expert knowledge of packing. There was a ten-day -deadline to be met. Two hundred pictures had to be chosen. And the -packing would have to be done with meticulous care. We considered -the possibilities. Captain Walter Farmer couldn’t be spared from his -duties as director of the Collecting Point. Lieutenant Samuel Ratensky, -Monuments officer for Greater Hesse, was an architect, not a museum man. -Captain Joseph Kelleher was one of our ablest officers; but he was just -out of the hospital where he had been laid up for three months with a -broken hip. The doctor had released him on condition that he be given -easy assignments for the next few weeks. - -At this critical juncture, Lamont Moore telephoned from Munich. He and -Steve had just completed the evacuation of the mine at Alt Aussee. Lamont -said that they were coming up to Frankfurt. Steve had enough points to -go home—enough and to spare. Lamont thought he’d take some leave. Bancel -signaled from the opposite desk. I told Lamont to forget about the leave; -that we had a job for him. Bancel sighed with relief. Lamont’s was a -different kind of sigh. - -Lamont’s arrival was providential. Aside from his obvious qualifications -for the Wiesbaden assignment, he and Colonel McBride were old friends -from the National Gallery where, as I have mentioned before, Lamont had -been director of the educational program. The colonel was content to -leave everything in his hands. Lamont and I spent an evening together -studying a list of the pictures stored at Wiesbaden. He typed out a -tentative selection. The next day he and the colonel went over to the -Collecting Point for a preliminary inspection. - -Steve was momentarily tempted by the prospect of having a part in -the undertaking. But when I told him there was a chance of his being -included in a draft of officers scheduled for immediate redeployment, -he decided that he’d had his share of packing. Maybe he’d come back in -the spring, if there was work still to be done. His parting gift was the -Mercedes-Benz, a temporary legacy, as it turned out: two weeks later -the car was stolen from the motor pool where I had left it for minor -repairs. Steve didn’t like the idea of having to wait at a processing -center before proceeding to his port of embarkation. He cheered up when -he learned that he was headed for one near Marburg. He went off in high -spirits at the prospect of seeing his old friend Walker Hancock again. - -Under Lamont’s skillful supervision, preparations for the shipment -proceeded according to schedule. Lamont chose Captain Kelleher as his -assistant. Together they located the cases from Captain Farmer’s records. -Only a few of the Kaiser Friedrich pictures had been taken out of the -cases in which they had been originally packed for removal from Berlin to -the Merkers mine. The larger cases contained as many as a dozen pictures. -It was slow work opening the cases and withdrawing a particular canvas -for repacking. Seldom were any two of the specified two hundred paintings -in a single case. When they were all finally assembled, each one was -photographed. In the midst of the proceedings, the supply of film and -paper ran out. The nearest replacements were at Mannheim. A day was lost -in obtaining the necessary authorization to requisition fresh supplies. -It took the better part of another day to make the trip to Mannheim and -back. Thanks to Lamont’s careful calculations, maximum use was made -of the original cases in repacking the two hundred paintings after a -photographic record had been made of their condition. - -While these operations were in progress, detailed plans for the actual -shipment of the paintings had to be worked out. Colonel McBride and -Bancel took up the matter of shipping space with General Ross, Chief of -Transportation. Sailing schedules were consulted. An Army transport, the -_James Parker_, was selected. As an alternative, temporary consideration -was given to the idea of trucking the pictures to Bremen and sending -them by a Naval vessel from there. But the Bremen sailing schedules were -unsatisfactory. A special metal car was requisitioned to transport the -cases from Frankfurt, by way of Paris, to Le Havre. A twenty-four-hour -guard detail was appointed to accompany the car from Frankfurt to the -ship. Trucks and escort vehicles were procured for the twenty-five-mile -trip from Wiesbaden to the Frankfurt rail yards. - -It was decided that Lamont should be responsible for delivering the -pictures to the National Gallery in Washington where they were to be -placed in storage. Bancel drafted the orders. He worked on them a full -day. It took two more days to have them cut. They were unique in one -respect: Lamont, a second lieutenant, was appointed officer-in-charge. -His designated assistant was a commander in the Navy. This was Commander -Keith Merrill, an old friend of Colonel McBride’s, who happened to be -in Frankfurt. He offered his services to the colonel and subsequently -crossed on the _James Parker_ with Lamont and the pictures. - -Lamont and Joe Kelleher finished the packing one day ahead of schedule. -The forty-five cases, lined with waterproof paper, were delivered to the -Frankfurt rail yards and loaded onto the car. From there the car was -switched to the station and attached to the night train for Paris. - -Bancel and I returned to the office to take up where we had left off. -As usual, Edith Standen had taken care of everything while we had been -preoccupied with the “Westward Ho” shipment. There had been no major -crises. Judging from the weekly field reports, restitution to the Dutch -and the French was proceeding without interruption. Edith produced a -stack of miscellaneous notations: The Belgian representative had arrived -in Munich. The Stockholm Museum had offered a supply of lumber to be used -in repairing war-damaged German buildings of cultural importance. There -had been two inquiries concerning a modification of Law 52 (the Military -Government regulation which forbade trafficking in works of art). A -report from Würzburg indicated that emergency repairs to the roof of the -Residenz were nearing completion. Lieutenant Rorimer had called from -Heidelberg about the books at Offenbach. - -Of all the problems which confronted the MFA&A Section, none was more -baffling than that of the books at Offenbach. There were more than two -million of them. They had been assembled from Jewish libraries throughout -Europe by the _Institut zur Erforschung der Judenfrage_—Institute for -the Investigation of the Jewish Question—at Frankfurt. At the close of -the war, a small part of the collection was found in a large private -house in Frankfurt. The rest was discovered in a repository to the north -of the city, at Hungen. The house in Frankfurt had been bombed, leaving -undamaged only the books stored in the cellar. One hundred and twenty -thousand volumes were removed from the damp cellar to the Rothschild -Library, which, though damaged, was still intact. Examination of this -portion of the collection revealed that it contained more than sixty -libraries looted from occupied countries. Subsequently, the rest of -the collection was transferred from Hungen to an enormous warehouse at -Offenbach, across the river from Frankfurt. The ultimate disposition -of this library—probably the greatest of its kind in the world—was the -subject of heated discussions, both written and oral. Several leading -Jewish scholars had expressed the hope that it could be kept together -and eventually established in some center of international study. Our -immediate responsibility was the care of the books in their two present -locations. That alone was exceedingly difficult. It would take months, -perhaps years, to make an inventory. - -Judge Samuel Rifkind, General Clay’s Adviser on Jewish Affairs, had -requested that twenty-five thousand volumes be made available for -distribution among the DP camps. I referred the request to the two -archivists who had recently joined our staff, Paul Vanderbilt and Edgar -Breitenbach. While I sympathized with the tragic plight of the Jewish -DPs, there were the unidentified legal owners of the books to be taken -into account. One of our archivists felt that we should accede to the -judge’s request; the other disagreed. The matter was referred to Berlin -for a decision. After several weeks, we received word from Berlin that no -books were to be released. The judge persisted. Ten days later, Berlin -reconsidered. The books could be released—that is, twenty-five thousand -of them—on condition that no rare or irreplaceable volumes were included -in the selection. Also, the volumes chosen were to be listed on a custody -receipt. Up to the time of my departure from Frankfurt, no books had been -released. - -During the latter part of November, we concentrated on future personnel -requirements for the MFA&A program in the American Zone. Current -directives indicated that drastic reductions in Military Government -installations throughout the Zone could be expected in the course of the -next six or eight months. Already we had begun to feel the impact of the -Army’s accelerated redeployment program. Bancel and I took stock of our -present resources. We had lost four officers and three enlisted men since -the first of the month. To offset them, we had gained two civilians; but -they were archivists, urgently needed in a specialized field of our work. -We couldn’t count on them as replacements. - -We drew up a chart showing the principal MFA&A offices and depots in each -of the three _Länder_. In Bavaria, for example, there were at Munich -the _Land_ office and the Central Collecting Point; a newly-established -Archival Collecting Point at Oberammergau and the auxiliary collecting -point at Bamberg; and two secondary offices, one in Upper Bavaria, -another in Lower Bavaria. In Greater Hesse, there were the _Land_ office -and the Central Collecting Point at Wiesbaden; the offices at Frankfurt -and Kassel; and the Collecting Points at Offenbach and Marburg. In -Württemberg-Baden, the smallest of the three _Länder_, the _Land_ office -was at Stuttgart. There was a secondary one at Karlsruhe. The principal -repositories, requiring MFA&A supervision, were the great mines at -Heilbronn and Kochendorf. - -We hoped that certain of these establishments could be closed out in a -few months; others would continue to operate for an indefinite period. We -regarded the _Land_ offices as permanent; likewise the Collecting Points, -with the exception of Marburg. And Marburg would have to be maintained -until it had been thoroughly sifted for loot, or until we received -authorization to effect interzonal transfers. Most of the Rhineland -museums were in the British Zone, but the collections were at Marburg. -The British had requested their return. Until our Berlin office approved -the request, we could do nothing. - -It was impossible to make an accurate forecast of our personnel -needs. Nevertheless we entered on the chart tentative reductions -with accompanying dates. The chart would serve as a basic guide in -the allocation of civilian positions when the conversion program got -seriously under way. A number of our officers had already signified their -intentions of converting to civilian status, if the promised program ever -materialized. - -Early in December, Bancel went home on thirty-days’ leave. Allowing two -weeks for transportation each way, he would be gone about two months. -In his absence, I was Acting Chief of the Section. Under the Navy’s new -point system, I had been eligible for release on the first of November, -but had requested an extension of active duty in anticipation of Bancel’s -departure. I was not looking forward with enthusiasm to the period of his -absence, because of the personnel problems which lay ahead. - -My apprehensions were justified. Our chart, based on a realistic concept -of the work yet to be done, was rejected by the Personnel Section. I was -told that each _Land_ would draw up its own T.O. (Table of Organization). -Perhaps there could be some co-ordination at a later date. Even the T.O. -of our own office at USFET was thrown back at us with the discouraging -comment that the proposed civil service ratings would have to be -downgraded. During the next eight weeks there must have been a dozen -personnel conferences between the top brass of USFET and the Military -Governors of the three _Länder_, and between them and the moguls of the -Group Control Council. Not once, to my knowledge, was the MFA&A Section -consulted. For a while I exhorted applicants for civilian MFA&A jobs to -be patient; but as the weeks went by and the job allocations failed to -materialize, applications were withdrawn. _Stars and Stripes_ contributed -to my discomfort with glittering forecasts of Military Government jobs -paying from seven to ten thousand dollars a year. There were positions -which paid such salaries, but _Stars and Stripes_ might have stressed -the fact that there were many more which paid less. I remember one mousy -little sergeant who applied for a job with us. In civilian life he had -received a salary of twelve hundred dollars a year. On his application -blank he stipulated, as the minimum he would accept, the sum of six -thousand dollars. - -Fortunately there were diversions from these endless personnel problems. -Edith and I fell into the habit of going over to Wiesbaden on Saturday -afternoons. It was a relief to escape from the impersonal life at our -headquarters to the friendly country atmosphere of the _Land_ and City -Detachments. We were particularly fond of our Monuments officers there. - -They were a dissimilar trio—Captain Farmer, Lieutenant Ratensky and -Captain Kelleher. Walter Farmer presided over the Collecting Point. -Walter seldom relaxed. He was an intense fellow, jumpy in his movements, -and unconsciously brusque in conversation. He was an excellent host, -loved showing us about the Collecting Point—particularly his “Treasure -Room” with its wonderful medieval objects—and, at the end of a tour, -invariably produced a bottle of Tokay in his office. - -Sam Ratensky, MFA&A officer for the _Land_, was short, slender and had -red hair. In civilian life he had been associated with Frank Lloyd Wright -and was deeply interested in city-planning. Sam usually looked harassed, -but his patience and understanding were inexhaustible. He was accurate in -his appraisals of people and had a quiet sense of humor. - -Joe Kelleher, Sam’s deputy, was a “black Irishman.” The war had -temporarily interrupted his brilliant career in the Fine Arts department -at Princeton. At twenty-eight, Joe had the poise, balance and tolerance -of a man twice that age. With wit and charm added to these soberer -qualities, he was a dangerously persuasive character. On one occasion, -during Bancel’s absence, he all but succeeded in hypnotizing our office -into assigning a disproportionate number of our best officers to the -MFA&A activities of Greater Hesse. When Sam Ratensky went home in -February, Joe succeeded him as MFA&A officer for the _Land_. He held -this post until his own release several months later. His intelligent -supervision of the work was a significant contribution to the success of -the American fine arts program in Germany. - -Another Monuments officer whose visits to Wiesbaden rivaled Edith’s and -mine in frequency was Captain Everett Parker Lesley, Jr. He disliked his -given name and preferred to be called “Bill.” Lesley had been in Europe -since the invasion. He was known as the “stormy petrel” of MFA&A. And -with good reason. He was brilliant and unpredictable. A master of oral -and written invective, he was terrible in his denunciation of stupidity -and incompetence. During the fall months, Bill was attached to the -Fifteenth Army with headquarters at Bad Nauheim. This was the “paper” -army, so called because its function was the compilation of a history of -the war. Bill was writing a report of MFA&A activities during combat. He -was a virtuoso of the limerick. I was proud of my own repertoire, but -Bill knew all of mine and fifty more of his own composing. He usually -telephoned me at the office when he had turned out a particularly good -one. - -Upon the completion of his report for Fifteenth Army, Lesley was -appointed MFA&A Officer at Frankfurt. As a part of his duties, he assumed -responsibility for the two million books at Offenbach and the Rothschild -Library. Within a week he had submitted a report on the two depots and -drafted practical plans for their effective reorganization. - -While Walter Farmer was on leave in England before Christmas, Joe -Kelleher took charge of the Wiesbaden Collecting Point. The Dutch and -French restitution representatives had gone home for the holidays. Joe -had the spare time to examine some of the unopened cases. He asked Edith -and me to come over one evening. He said that he might have a surprise -for us. I said we’d come and asked if I might bring Colonel Kluss, -Chief of the Restitution Control Branch. The colonel had never seen the -Collecting Point. - -We drove over in the colonel’s car. After early dinner with Joe at the -City Detachment, we went down to the Collecting Point. Joe unlocked the -“Treasure Room” and switched on the lights. The colonel whistled when he -looked around the room. - -“Those are the Polish church treasures which the Nazis swiped,” said Joe, -pointing casually to the gold and silver objects stacked on shelves and -tables. “There’s something a lot more exciting in that box.” - -He walked over to a packing case about five feet square which stood in -the center of the room. The lid had been unscrewed but was still in -place. It was marked in black letters: “Kiste 28, Aegypt. Abteilung—Bunte -Königin—Tel-el-Amarna—NICHT KIPPEN!”—Case 28, Egyptian Department—Painted -Queen—Tel-el-Amarna—DON’T TILT! Joe grinned with satisfaction as I read -the markings. The Painted Queen—Queen Nefertete. This celebrated head, -the most beautiful piece of Egyptian sculpture in the world, had been one -of the great treasures of the Berlin Museum. It was a momentous occasion. -There was every reason to believe that the German museum authorities -had packed the head with proper care. Even so, the case had been moved -around a good deal in the meantime, first from the Merkers mine to -the vaults of the Reichsbank in Frankfurt, and then from Frankfurt to -Wiesbaden. There was not much point in speculating about that now. We’d -know the worst in a few minutes. - -Joe and I laid the lid aside. The box was filled with a white packing -material. At first I thought it was cotton, but it wasn’t. It was glass -wool. In the very center of the box lay the head, swathed in silk paper. -Gingerly we lifted her from the case and placed her on a table. We -unwound the silk paper. Nefertete was unharmed, and as bewitching as -ever. She was well named: “The beautiful one is here.” - -While we studied her from every angle, Joe recounted the story of the -Nefertete, her discovery and subsequent abduction to Berlin. She was the -wife of Akhnaton, enlightened Pharaoh of the fourteenth century B.C. -This portrait of her was excavated in the winter of 1912 by Dr. Ludwig -Borchardt, famous German Egyptologist, on the site of Tel-el-Amarna, -Akhnaton’s capital. In compliance with the regulations of the Egyptian -Government, Borchardt submitted a list of his finds at Tel-el-Amarna to -M. Maspero of the Cairo Museum. According to the story, Maspero merely -glanced at the list, to make certain that a fifty-fifty division had -been made, and did not actually examine the items. The head was taken to -Berlin and placed in storage until after the first World War. When it was -placed on exhibition in 1920, the Egyptian Government protested loudly -that Dr. Borchardt had deceived the authorities of the Cairo Museum and -demanded the immediate return of the head. (The Egyptian Government was -again pressing its claim in March 1946.) - -After replacing Nefertete in her case, Joe showed the colonel the -collection of rare medieval treasures, including those of the Guelph -Family—patens, chalices and reliquaries of exquisite workmanship dating -from the eleventh and twelfth centuries. With a fine sense of showmanship -he saved the most spectacular piece till the last: the famous Crown of -St. Stephen, the first Christian king of Hungary, crowned by the Pope -in the year 1000. It was adorned with enamel plaques, bordered with -pearls and studded with great uncut gems. Joe said there was a difference -of opinion among scholars as to the exact date and provenance of the -enamels. The crown was surmounted by a bent gold cross. According to -Joe, the cross had been bent for four hundred years and would never be -straightened. During the sixteenth century, the safety of the crown was -endangered. It was entrusted to the care of a Hungarian noblewoman, -who concealed it in a compartment under the seat of her carriage. The -space was small and when the lid was closed and weighted down by the -occupant of the carriage, the cross got bent. The Hungarian coronation -regalia included three other pieces: a sword, an orb, and a scepter. The -scepter was extremely beautiful. The stalk was of rich gold filigree and -terminated in a spherical ornament of carved rock crystal. The regalia -was kept in a specially constructed iron trunk with three locks, the keys -to which were entrusted to three different nobles. At the close of the -present war, American troops apprehended a Hungarian officer with the -trunk. Perhaps he was trying to safeguard the regalia as his predecessor -in the sixteenth century had done. In any case, the American authorities -thought they’d better relieve him of that grave responsibility. - -[Illustration: The Hungarian Crown Jewels. _Left_, the scepter. _Center_, -the celebrated Crown of St. Stephen. _Right_, the sword. These priceless -treasures fell into the hands of the American authorities in Germany at -the war’s close.] - -[Illustration: View of the Treasure Room at the Central Collecting Point, -Wiesbaden, showing treasures stolen from Polish churches.] - -[Illustration: The celebrated Egyptian sculpture, Queen Nefertete, -formerly in the Berlin Museum, discovered in the Merkers salt mine.] - -A few days after our visit to Wiesbaden with Colonel Kluss, I received a -letter from home enclosing a clipping from the December 7 edition of the -New York _Times_. The clipping read as follows: - - $80,000,000 PAINTINGS ARRIVE FROM EUROPE ON ARMY TRANSPORT - - A valuable store of art, said to consist entirely of paintings - worth upward of $80,000,000, arrived here last night from - Europe in the holds of the Army transport _James Parker_. - - Where the paintings came from and where they are going was a - mystery, and no Army officer on the pier at Forty-fourth Street - and North River, where the _Parker_ docked with 2,483 service - passengers, would discuss the shipment, or even admit it was on - board. It was learned elsewhere that a special detail of Army - officers was on the ship during the night to take charge of the - consignment, which will be unloaded today. - - Unusual precautions were taken to keep the arrival of the - paintings secret. The canvases were included in more than forty - crates and were left untouched during the night under lock and - key. - - Presumably the shipment was gathered at sites in Europe where - priceless stores of paintings and art objects stolen by the - Nazis from the countries they overran were discovered when - Allied forces broke through into Germany and the dominated - countries. - - The White House announced in Washington two months ago that - shipments of art would be brought here for safekeeping, to - be kept in “trust” for the rightful owners, and the National - Gallery of Art, through its chairman, Chief Justice Harlan - Fiske Stone, was asked to provide storage and protection for - the works while they are in this country. The gallery is - equipped with controlled ventilation and expert personnel for - the storage and handling of such works. - - The White House announcement gave no listing of the paintings, - but it is known that among the vast stores seized, including - caches in Italy as well as Germany, and Hermann Goering’s - famous $200,000,000 art collection, [were] included many of the - world’s art treasures and works of the masters. - -By coincidence, I received that same day a copy of the New York _Times -Overseas Weekly_ edition of December 9, which carried substantially the -same story, except for the fact that it stated unequivocally that the -paintings shipped to America were Nazi loot. - -Edith and I were gravely disturbed by the inaccuracy of the statements in -these articles. Our concern was increased by the fact that the articles -had appeared in so reliable a publication as the _Times_. What could -have happened to the official press release on the subject issued on the -twenty-fourth of November when the _James Parker_ was ready to sail?[5] -And why all the mystery? I reread the December 7 clipping. To me there -was the implication that we were shipping loot in wholesale lots to the -United States. That would be alarming news to the countries whose stolen -art works we were already returning as rapidly as possible. - -The _Times_ story most emphatically called for a correction. But if -a statement from our office were sent through channels, it probably -wouldn’t reach New York before Easter. Edith looked up from her work. -There was a glint in her eye. She asked, “Will you do me a favor? I’d -like to write the letter of correction.” - -I told her to go ahead. Ten minutes later she showed me the rough draft. -It covered all the points. I reworked a phrase here and there but made -no important changes and, as soon as it was typed and cleared, I signed -and mailed it. As published in the New York _Times_ two weeks later, on -January 2, 1946, the letter read as follows: - - TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES - - On Dec. 7 _The Times_ printed a report to the effect that - $80,000,000 worth of paintings, presumably from the stores of - art objects stolen by the Nazis, had arrived from Europe in the - Army transport James Parker. Your Overseas Weekly edition of - Dec. 9 repeated this information but stated categorically that - the paintings were Nazi loot. - - It is true that the James Parker brought to America some 200 - paintings of inestimable value, but none of them is loot or - of dubious ownership. They are the property of the Kaiser - Friedrich Museum in Berlin. A press release from the Office - of Military Government for Germany (U.S.), dated Nov. 24, - states that these “priceless German-owned paintings, which - might suffer irreparable damage if left in Germany through - the winter, have been selected for temporary storage in the - United States. These paintings have been gathered from various - wartime repositories in the United States Zone of Germany and - are being shipped to Washington to insure their safety and to - hold them in trust for the people of Germany. The United States - Government has promised their return to the German people.” - - It cannot be stated too emphatically that the policy of the - American Military Government is to return all looted works - of art to their owner nations with the greatest possible - speed. Since the restitution in August of the famous van Eyck - altarpiece, “The Mystic Lamb,” to Belgium, a steady stream of - paintings, sculpture, fine furniture and other art objects - has poured from the highly organized collecting points of the - United States Zone to the liberated countries. Few, if any, - looted works of art of any importance are of unknown origin; - and though, among the vast masses of material taken from the - Jews and other “enemies of the state” for what was always - described as “safekeeping” there will undoubtedly be many - pieces whose ownership will be difficult to determine, it - appears unlikely that these will be found to be of great value. - - The shipment of German-owned paintings to the United States is - thus a project entirely separate from the main objectives of - the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of the Office - of Military Government—namely, the restitution of loot and - the re-establishment of the German museums and other cultural - organizations. To confuse this shipment, which was directed by - the highest national authority, with what is now the routine - work of preservation, identification and restitution performed - by trained specialist personnel is to mislead our Allies - and to underrate the accomplishments of a small group of - disinterested and hard-working Americans. - - Thomas C. Howe Jr. - - Lieut. Comdr., USNR, Deputy Chief; Director - on Leave, California Palace of the - Legion of Honor, San Francisco. - - European Theatre, Dec. 18, 1945. - -The main objectives of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of -American Military Government in Germany were defined in my letter to the -New York _Times_ as “the restitution of loot and the re-establishment -of the German museums and other cultural institutions.” Honorable and -constructive objectives. And, as expressed in that letter, unequivocal -and reassuring both to the liberated countries of Europe and to the -Germans. Yet how difficult of attainment! How difficult even to keep -those objectives clearly in mind when confronted simultaneously—as our -officers often were—with a dozen problems of equal urgency! - -At close range it was impossible to look objectively at the overall -record of our accomplishments. But homeward bound in February I had that -opportunity. The pieces of the puzzle began to fit together and the -picture took shape. It was possible to determine to what extent we have -realized our objectives. - -So far as restitution is concerned, the record has been a success. During -the summer months our energies were devoted to obvious preliminary -preparations. They included the establishment of Central Collecting -Points at Munich, Marburg and Wiesbaden. Immediately thereafter, the -contents of art repositories in the American Zone were removed to those -central depots. The Central Collecting Points, organized and directed by -Monuments officers with museum experience, were staffed with trained -personnel from German museums. The one at Munich was primarily reserved -for looted art, since the majority of the cultural booty was found in -Bavaria. The Collecting Points at Wiesbaden and Marburg, on the other -hand, housed German-owned collections brought from repositories in which -storage conditions were unsatisfactory. - -The process of actual restitution was inaugurated by token restitutions -in the name of General Eisenhower to Belgium, Holland, France and -Czechoslovakia. Circumstances beyond our control postponed similar -gestures of good will to Poland and Greece. Representatives of the -liberated countries were invited to the American Zone to identify and -remove the loot from the collecting points. According to late reports, -the restitution of loot was continuing without interruption. - -Shortly after my return, there were disquieting rumors of drastic -reductions in American personnel connected with cultural restitution in -Germany. I earnestly hope that these rumors are without foundation. Such -reductions would be disastrous to the completion of a program which has -reflected so creditably on our government. - -The re-establishment of German museums and other cultural -institutions—our second main objective—has been, to a large extent, -sacrificed in the interests of restitution. This brings up again the -urgent need for the immediate replenishment of our dwindling Fine Arts -personnel in Germany. Our moral responsibility for the continuation of -this phase of the MFA&A program is a grave one. It was understandably -neglected during the first six months of our occupation in Germany. -And it would be unfair to argue that the British have far outdistanced -us in this field. That they have done so is undeniably true. However, -the British found but little loot in their zone. Consequently, they -have been able to make rapid strides in the reconstitution of German -collections and cultural institutions, while we have been preoccupied -with restitution. - -Notwithstanding that preoccupation, our Monuments officers were -instrumental in arranging a series of impressive exhibitions of -German-owned masterpieces. The first of these was held at Marburg in -November 1945. A second and more ambitious show, which included many of -the finest treasures of the Bavarian State Galleries, opened at Munich -in January 1946. A third, comprising paintings and sculptures from the -museums of Berlin and Frankfurt, was presented at Wiesbaden in February. - -All these exhibitions were accompanied by catalogues with German and -English texts. Those of Munich and Wiesbaden were lavishly illustrated. -The Munich catalogue contained several plates showing the rooms in which -the exhibition was held—lofty, spacious galleries recalling the marble -halls of our own National Gallery at Washington. - -At the time of my departure from Germany, little was known of French -and Russian procedures with regard to cultural rehabilitation in their -respective zones of occupation. Their Military Governments have made -provisions for personnel capable of carrying on work similar to ours and -that of the British. - -The caliber of the men drawn into the project from all branches of -our Armed Forces has been cited as an important factor in the success -of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program. I would like to -cite another factor which I consider equally important: There was no -arbitrary drafting of personnel; participation was voluntary. The -resulting spontaneity and its value to the spirit of the work cannot be -exaggerated. - - - - -APPENDIX - - - - -APPENDIX - - -The following is the complete list of the paintings transferred from -Germany and now stored at the National Gallery, according to its News -Release of December 14, 1945: - -Albrecht Altdorfer: _Rest on the Flight into Egypt_ - -Albrecht Altdorfer: _Landscape with Satyr Family_ - -Albrecht Altdorfer: _Nativity_ - -Albrecht Altdorfer: _Christ’s Farewell to His Apostles_ - -Christoph Amberger: _Cosmographer Sebastian Münster_ - -Jacopo Amigioni: _Lady as Diana_ - -Fra Angelico: _Last Judgment_ - -Austrian Master (ca. 1400): _Christ, Madonna, St. John_ - -Austrian Master (ca. 1410): _Crucifixion_ - -Hans Baldung Grien: _Altar of Halle_ - -Hans Baldung Grien: _Graf von Löwenstein_ - -Hans Baldung Grien: _Pietà_ - -Hans Baldung Grien: _Pyramus and Thisbe_ - -Giovanni Bellini: _The Resurrection_ - -Bohemian (ca. 1350): _Glatyer Madonna_ - -Hieronymus Bosch: _St. John on Patmos_ - -Botticelli: _Giuliano de Medici_, and frame - -Botticelli: _Madonna of the Lilies_ - -Botticelli: _St. Sebastian_ - -Botticelli: _Simonetta Vespucci_ - -Botticelli: _Venus_ - -Dirk Bouts: _Madonna and Child_ - -Dirk Bouts: _Virgin in Adoration_ - -Peter Breughel: _Dutch Proverbs_ - -Peter Breughel: _Two Monkeys_ - -Angelo Bronzino: _Portrait of a Young Man_ - -Angelo Bronzino: _Portrait of a Young Man_ - -Angelo Bronzino: _Ugolino Martelli_ - -Hans Burgkmair: _Holy Family_ - -Giovanni Battista Caracciolo: _Cosmos and Damian_ - -Caravaggio: _Cupid as Victor_ - -Vittore Carpaccio: _Entombment of Christ_ - -Andrea del Castagno: _Assumption of the Virgin_ - -Chardin: _The Draughtsman_ - -Chardin: _Still Life_ - -Petrus Christus: _Portrait of a Girl_ - -Petrus Christus: _St. Barbara and a Carthusian Monk_ - -Joos van Cleve: _Young Man_ - -Cologne Master (ca. 1400): _Life of Christ_ - -Cologne Master (ca. 1350): _Madonna Enthroned, Crucifixion_ - -Correggio: _Leda and the Swan_ - -Francesco Cossa: _Allegory of Autumn_ - -Lucas Cranach, the Elder: _Frau Reuss_ - -Lucas Cranach, the Elder: _Lucretia_ - -Lucas Cranach, the Elder: _Rest on the Flight into Egypt_ - -Daumier: _Don Quixote_ - -Piero di Cosimo: _Mars, Venus and Cupid_ - -Lorenzo di Credi: _Young Girl_ - -Albrecht Dürer: _Madonna_ - -Albrecht Dürer: _Madonna with the Goldfinch_ - -Albrecht Dürer: _Young Woman_ - -Albrecht Dürer: _Hieronymus Holzschuher_ - -Albrecht Dürer: _Cover for Portrait of Hieronymus Holzschuher_ - -Adam Elsheimer: _The Drunkenness of Noah_ - -Adam Elsheimer: _Holy Family_ - -Adam Elsheimer: _Landscape with the Weeping Magdalene_ - -Adam Elsheimer: _St. Christopher_ - -Jean Fouquet: _Etienne Chevalier with St. Stephen_ - -French (ca. 1400): _Coronation of the Virgin_ - -French Master (ca. 1400): _Triptych_ - -Geertgen tot Sint Jans: _John the Baptist_ - -Geertgen tot Sint Jans: _Madonna_ - -Giorgione: _Portrait of a Young Man_ - -Giotto: _Death of the Virgin_ - -Jan Gossaert: _Baudouin de Bourbon_ - -Jan Gossaert: _Christ on the Mount of Olives_ - -Francesco Guardi: _The Balloon Ascension_ - -Francesco Guardi: _St. Mark’s Piazza in Venice_ - -Francesco Guardi: _Piazzetta in Venice_ - -Frans Hals: _Hille Bobbe_ - -Frans Hals: _Nurse and Child_ - -Frans Hals: _Portrait of a Young Man_ - -Frans Hals: _Portrait of a Young Woman_ - -Frans Hals: _Singing Boy_ - -Frans Hals: _Tyman Oosdorp_ - -Meindert Hobbema: _Landscape_ - -Hans Holbein: _George Giesze_ - -Hans Holbein: _Old Man_ - -Hans Holbein: _Portrait of a Man_ - -Pieter de Hooch: _The Mother_ - -Pieter de Hooch: _Party of Officers and Ladies_ - -Willem Kalf: _Still Life_ - -Willem Kalf: _Still Life_ - -Philips Konninck: _Dutch Landscape_ - -Georges de la Tour: _St. Sebastian_ - -Filippino Lippi: _Allegory of Music_ - -Fra Filippo Lippi: _Adoration of the Child_ - -Pietro Lorenzetti: _St. Humilitas Raises a Nun_ - -Pietro Lorenzetti: _Death of St. Humilitas_ - -Claude Lorrain: _Italian Coast Scene_ - -Lorenzo Lotto: _Christ’s Farewell to His Mother_ - -Bastiano Mainardi: _Portrait of a Man_ - -Manet: _In the Winter Garden_ - -Andrea Mantegna: _Cardinal Mezzarota_ - -Andrea Mantegna: _Presentation in the Temple_ - -Simon Mannion: _Altar of St. Omer_ (two panels) - -Simone Martini: _Burial of Christ_ - -Masaccio: _Birth Platter_ - -Masaccio: _Three Predelle_ - -Masaccio: _Four Saints_ - -Quentin Massys: _The Magdalene_ - -Master of the Darmstadt Passion: _Altar Wings_ - -Master of Flémalle: _Crucifixion_ - -Master of Flémalle: _Portrait of a Man_ - -Master of the Virgo inter Virgines: _Adoration of the Kings_ - -Hans Memling: _Madonna Enthroned with Angels_ - -Hans Memling: _Madonna Enthroned_ - -Hans Memling: _Madonna and Child_ - -Lippo Memmi: _Madonna and Child_ - -Antonello da Messina: _Portrait of a Man_ - -Jan Mostaert: _Portrait of a Man_ - -Aelbert Ouwater: _Raising of Lazarus_ - -Palma Vecchio: _Portrait of a Man_ - -Palma Vecchio: _Young Woman_ - -Giovanni Paolo Pannini: _Colosseum_. - -Giovanni di Paolo: _Christ on the Cross_ - -Giovanni di Paolo: _Legend of St. Clara_ - -Joachim Patinir: _Rest on the Flight into Egypt_ - -Sebastiano del Piombo: _Roman Matron_ - -Sebastiano del Piombo: _Knight of the Order of St. James_ - -Antonio Pollaiuolo: _David_ - -Nicolas Poussin: _St. Matthew_ - -Nicolas Poussin: _Amaltea_ - -Raphael: _Madonna Diotalevi_ - -Raphael: _Madonna Terranova_ - -Raphael: _Solly Madonna_ - -Rembrandt: _Landscape with Bridge_ - -Rembrandt: _John the Baptist_ - -Rembrandt: _Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife_ - -Rembrandt: _Vision of Daniel_ - -Rembrandt: _Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law_ - -Rembrandt: _Susanna and the Elders_ - -Rembrandt: _Tobias and the Angel_ - -Rembrandt: _Minerva_ - -Rembrandt: _Rape of Proserpina_ - -Rembrandt: _Self Portrait_ - -Rembrandt: _Hendrickje Stoffels_ - -Rembrandt: _Man with Gold Helmet_ - -Rembrandt: _Old Man with Red Hat_ - -Rembrandt: _Rabbi_ - -Rembrandt: _Saskia_ - -Rubens: _Landscape (shipwreck of Aeneas)_ - -Rubens: _St. Cecilia_ - -Rubens: _Madonna Enthroned with Saints_ - -Rubens: _Andromeda_ - -Rubens: _Perseus and Andromeda_ - -Rubens: _Isabella Brandt_ - -Jacob van Ruysdael: _View of Haarlem_ - -Andrea Sacchi(?): _Allesandro del Boro_ - -Sassetta: _Legend of St. Francis_ - -Sassetta: _Mass of St. Francis_ - -Martin Schongauer: _Nativity_ - -Seghers: _Landscape_ - -Luca Signorelli: _Three Saints_ (altar wing) - -Luca Signorelli: _Three Saints_ (altar wing) - -Luca Signorelli: _Portrait of a Man_ - -Francesco Squarcione: _Madonna and Child_ - -Jan Steen: _Inn Garden_ - -Jan Steen: _The Christening_ - -Bernardo Strozzi: _Judith_ - -Gerard Terborch: _The Concert_ - -Gerard Terborch: _Paternal Advice_ - -Giovanni Battista Tiepolo: _Carrying of the Cross_ - -Giovanni Battista Tiepolo: _St. Agatha_ - -Giovanni Battista Tiepolo: _Rinaldo and Armida_ - -Tintoretto: _Doge Mocenigo_ - -Tintoretto: _Old Man_ - -Titian: _Venus with Organ Player_ - -Titian: _Self Portrait_ - -Titian: _Lavinia_ - -Titian: _Portrait of a Young Man_ - -Titian: _Child of the Strozzi Family_ - -Cosma Tura: _St. Christopher_ - -Cosma Tura: _St. Sebastian_ - -Adriaen van der Velde: _The Farm_ - -Roger Van der Weyden: _Altar with Scenes from the Life of Mary_ - -Roger Van der Weyden: _Johannes-alter Altar with Scenes from the Life of -John the Baptist_ - -Roger Van der Weyden: _Bladelin Altar_ - -Roger Van der Weyden: _Portrait of a Woman_ - -Roger Van der Weyden: _Charles the Bold_ - -Jan Van Eyck: _Crucifixion_ - -Jan Van Eyck: _Madonna in the Church_ - -Jan Van Eyck: _Giovanni Arnolfini_ - -Jan Van Eyck: _Man with a Pink_ - -Jan Van Eyck: _Knight of the Golden Fleece_ - -Lucas van Leyden: _Chess Players_ - -Lucas van Leyden: _Madonna and Child_ - -Velásquez: _Countess Olivares_ - -Domenico Veneziano: _Adoration of the Kings_ - -Domenico Veneziano: _Martyrdom of St. Lucy_ - -Domenico Veneziano: _Portrait of a Young Woman_ - -Vermeer: _Young Woman with a Pearl Necklace_ - -Vermeer: _Man and Woman Drinking Wine_ - -Andrea del Verrocchio: _Madonna and Child_ - -Andrea del Verrocchio: _Madonna and Child_ - -Watteau: _Fête Champêtre_ - -Watteau: _French Comedians_ - -Watteau: _Italian Comedians_ - -Westphalian Master (ca. 1250): _Triptych_ - -Konrad Witz: _Crucifixion_ - -Konrad Witz: _Allegory of Redemption_ - -On January 15, 1946, Mr. Rensselaer W. Lee, President of the College Art -Association of America, sent the following letter to the Secretary of -State: - - My dear Mr. Secretary: - - The members of the College Art Association of America, - a constituent member of the American Council of Learned - Societies, have been disturbed by the removal to this country - of works of art from Berlin museums. - - Information that we have received from abroad leads us to - believe that the integrity of United States policy has been - questioned as a result of this action. We have also been - informed that adequate facilities and American personnel now - exist in the American zone in Germany to assure the proper care - of art treasures in that area. - - We would therefore urge that the department of State clarify - this action, and would strongly recommend that assurances be - given that no further shipments are contemplated. - -Copies of this letter were sent to members of the American Commission -for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War -Areas. - -The State Department replied on January 25: - - My Dear Mr. Lee: - - Your letter of January 15, urging the Department to clarify the - action taken in removing to the United States certain works of - art from German museums, has been received. In the absence of - the Secretary, I am replying to your letter and am glad to give - you additional information on this question. - - The decision to remove these works of art to this country - was made on the basis of a statement by General Clay that he - did not have adequate facilities and personnel to safeguard - German art treasures and that he could not undertake the - responsibility of their proper care. - - You indicated in your letter that you have been informed that - adequate facilities and personnel now exist in the American - zone for the protection of these art treasures. I must - inform you that our information, based upon three separate - investigations, is precisely to the contrary. The redeployment - program has, as you no doubt realize, reduced American - personnel in Germany and this reduction is applied to arts and - monuments and this personnel as well as to other branches. - - The coal situation in Germany is critical and has made it - impossible to provide heat for the museums. General Clay cannot - be expected to provide heat for the museums if that means - taking it away from American forces, from hospitals, or from - essential utility needs. - - We are furthermore advised that the security situation was not - such as to ensure adequate protection in Germany. In short, the - Department’s information is such that it cannot agree with your - premise. - - It was realized that the “integrity of United States policy” - might be questioned by some if these works of art were removed - to this country. After a careful review of the facts, it was - decided that the most important aspect was to safeguard these - priceless treasures by bringing them to this country where they - could be properly cared for. It was hoped that the President’s - pledge that they would be returned to Germany would satisfy - those who might be critical of this Government’s motives. - - Sincerely yours, - - For the Acting Secretary of State: - James W. Riddleberger - Chief, Division of - Central European Affairs[6] - -In April the author of this book received from Frederick Mortimer -Clapp, director of the Frick Collection, New York, the following letter -regarding the removal of German-owned works of art to this country. A -copy of the resolution which accompanied this letter and a list of those -who subsequently signed the resolution are also printed below. - - 1 East 70th Street - New York 21, New York - April 24, 1946 - - Dear - - Since we believe that it is impossible to defend on technical, - political or moral grounds the decision to ship to this country - two hundred internationally known and extremely valuable - pictures belonging indisputably, by prewar gift or purchase, - to German institutions, notably the Kaiser Friedrich Museum of - Berlin, we propose to memorialize the President in a resolution - to be signed by a group of like-minded people interested in or - associated with the arts. - - We also intend to point out that no reason can be found for - even temporarily alienating these works of art from the country - to which legally they belong. - - We represent no organized movement or institution. We merely - wish as American citizens to go on record by appealing to our - government to set right an ill considered action arising from - an error of judgment which, however disinterested in intention, - has already done much to weaken our national condemnation of - German sequestrations of the artistic heritage or possessions - of other nations under the subterfuge of “protective custody,” - or openly as loot. - - The moral foundations of our war effort and final victories - will be subtly undermined if we, who understand the - implications, pass over in silence an action taken by our - own officials that, in outward appearance at least cannot be - distinguished from those, detestable to all right thinking - people, which the Nazis’ policy of pillage inspired and - condoned. - - The Monuments Officers attached to our armed forces with - their specialized knowledge of the practical risks involved - unanimously condemned the decision. Those Americans whose - profession it is to study and preserve old paintings deplore - it. On ethical grounds it is disapproved by the opinion of - enlightened laymen. - - We therefore consider the protest we will make to be our plain - and simple duty, for it is our considered judgment that no - explanation or excuse acceptable to the public conscience can - be found for sending fragile old masters across the sea to this - country. The physical hazards, the momentous responsibilities - and the intellectual ambiguities inherent in such an act are - only too grossly evident. The historical repercussions that - will follow it can be imagined in the light of past situations - of a similar kind. It is well known that the Nazis inculcated - in the German mind a fanatical belief that we are destructive - barbarians. All future deterioration of these pictures will - now, rightly or wrongly, be laid at our door. - - We should be glad if you would care to join us and others, who - have already expressed to us their sense of the unjustified - impropriety of the action to which we refer in demanding the - immediate return to Germany of these panels and canvasses, - the cancellation of all plans to exhibit them in this country - and the countermanding at once of any contemplated further - shipments. - - The text of the proposed resolution is enclosed. As one of the - principal reasons for submitting it to our government is to - forestall further action of a similar kind with reference to - pictures or objects of art belonging to German museums, as well - as to rectify the existing situation, may I earnestly request - you to signify your approval, if you are so minded, by signing - the resolution and returning it to me before May 6. - - Sincerely yours, - - Signed: FREDERICK MORTIMER CLAPP. - -On May 9, 1946, Dr. Clapp and Mrs. Juliana Force, director of the Whitney -Museum, sent President Truman the following resolution, a copy of which -was enclosed with the above letter: - - RESOLUTION - - WHEREAS in all civilized countries one of the most significant - public reactions during the recent war was the horrified - indignation caused by the surreptitious or brazen looting - of works of art by German officials in countries they had - conquered; - - AND WHEREAS that indignation and abhorrence on the part of free - peoples was a powerful ingredient in the ardor and unanimity - of their support of the war effort of democratically governed - states in which the private opinions of citizens are the source - and controlling directive of official action; - - AND WHEREAS two hundred important and valuable pictures - belonging to the Kaiser Friedrich and other Berlin museums have - been removed from Germany and sent to this country on the still - unestablished ground of ensuring their safety; - - AND WHEREAS it is apparent that disinterested and intelligent - people believe that this action cannot be justified on - technical, political or moral grounds and that many, including - the Germans themselves, may find it hard to distinguish between - the resultant situation and the “protective custody” used by - the Nazis as a camouflage for the sequestration of the artistic - treasures of other countries; - - BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, respectfully - request the President to order the immediate safe return to - Germany of the aforesaid paintings, the cancellation of any - plans that may have been made to exhibit them in this country - and the countermanding without delay of any further shipments - of the kind that may have been contemplated. - - This resolution was signed by: - - Abbott, Jere - Director - Smith College Museum of Art - Northampton, Mass. - - Abbott, John E. - Executive Vice-President - The Museum of Modern Art - New York, N.Y. - - Adams, Philip R. - Director - Cincinnati Museum - Cincinnati, Ohio - - Barber, Professor Leila - Vassar College - Poughkeepsie, N. Y. - - Baker, C. H. Collins - Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery - San Marino, Calif. - - Barr, Alfred H. - The Museum of Modern Art - New York, N. Y. - - Barzun, Jacques - History Department - Columbia University - New York, N. Y. - - Baur, John I. H. - Curator of Painting - Brooklyn Museum - Brooklyn, N. Y. - - Biebel, Franklin - Assistant to Director - Frick Collection - New York, N.Y. - - Breeskin, Mrs. Adelyn - Acting Director - Baltimore Museum of Art - Baltimore, Md. - - Burdell, Dr. Edwin S. - Director - The Cooper Union - New York, N. Y. - - Chase, Elizabeth - Editor “Bulletin” - Yale University Art Gallery - New Haven, Conn. - - Claflin, Professor Agnes Rindge - Vassar College - Poughkeepsie, N. Y. - - Clapp, Frederick Mortimer - Director - Frick Collection - New York, N. Y. - - Cole, Grover - Instructor in Ceramics - University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Mich. - - Cook, Walter W. S. - Chairman - Institute of Fine Arts - New York University, N. Y. - - Courier, Miss Elodie - Dir. of Circulating Exhibitions - The Museum of Modern Art - New York, N. Y. - - Crosby, Dr. Sumner - Assistant Professor, History of Art - Yale University - New Haven, Conn. - - Cunningham, Charles C. - Director - Wadsworth Atheneum - Hartford, Conn. - - Dawson, John P. - Professor of Law - University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Mich. - - Faisan, Professor Lane, Jr. - Williams College - Williamstown, Mass. - - Faunce, Wayne M. - Vice-Director - American Museum of Natural History - New York, N. Y. - - Fisher, H. H. - Hoover Library - Stanford University - Palo Alto, Calif. - - Force, Mrs. Juliana - Director - Whitney Museum of American Art - New York, N. Y. - - Goodrich, Lloyd - Research Curator - Whitney Museum of American Art - New York, N. Y. - - Gores, Walter J. - Professor and Chairman of Design - University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Mich. - - Haight, Mary N. - Assistant Curator of Ancient Art - Yale University Art Gallery - New Haven, Conn. - - Hamilton, George Heard - Curator of Paintings - Yale University Art Gallery - New Haven, Conn. - - Hamlin, Talbot F. - Librarian, Avery Architectural Library - Columbia University - New York, N.Y. - - Hammett, Ralph W. - Professor of Architecture - University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Mich. - - Hancock, Walter - Director of Sculpture - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - Philadelphia, Pa. - - Hayes, Bartlett H., Jr. - Director - Addison Gallery of American Art - Andover, Mass. - - Hebran, Jean - Professor of Architecture - University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Mich. - - Helm, Miss Florence - Old Merchant’s House - New York, N. Y. - - Howe, Thomas Carr, Jr. - Director - California Palace of the Legion of Honor - San Francisco, Calif. - - Hudnut, Joseph - Dean - Graduate School of Architecture - Harvard University - Cambridge, Mass. - - Hume, Samuel J. - Director - Berkeley Art Association - Berkeley, Calif. - - Ivins, William M., Jr. - Counselor and Curator of Prints - The Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York, N.Y. - - Janson, H. W. - Assistant Professor - Department of Art and Archaeology - Washington University - St. Louis, Mo. - - Jewell, Henry A. - Department of Art and Archaeology - Princeton University - Princeton, N. J. - - Kaufmann, Edgar - Curator of Industrial Art - The Museum of Modern Art - New York, N.Y. - - Keck, Sheldon - Restorer - The Brooklyn Museum - Brooklyn, N. Y. - - Kirby, John C. - Assistant Administrator - Walters Gallery - Baltimore, Md. - - Kirstein, Lincoln - New York, N. Y. - - Kubler, Professor George - Yale University - New Haven, Conn. - - Lee, Rensselaer W. - Princeton, N. J. - - Marceau, Henri - Assistant Director - Philadelphia Museum of Art - Philadelphia, Pa. - - Mcllhenny, Henry - Curator of Decorative Arts - Philadelphia Museum of Art - Philadelphia, Pa. - - McMahon, A. Philip - Chairman - Fine Arts Department - Washington Square College - New York University - New York, N. Y. - - Meeks, Everett V. - Dean - Yale School of the Fine Arts - New Haven, Conn. - - Meiss, Millard - Professor - Columbia University - New York, N. Y. - - Miner, Miss Dorothy E. - Librarian - Walters Gallery - Baltimore, Md. - - More, Hermon - Curator - Whitney Museum of American Art - New York, N. Y. - - Morley, Dr. Grace McCann - Director - San Francisco Museum of Art - San Francisco, Calif. - - Morse, John D. - Editor - Magazine of Art - New York, N. Y. - - Myer, John Walden - Assistant Director - Museum of the City of New York - New York, N. Y. - - Myers, George Hewitt - President - Textile Museum of the District of Columbia - Washington, D. C. - - Nagel, Charles, Jr. - Director - The Brooklyn Museum - Brooklyn, N. Y. - - O’Connor, John, Jr. - Assistant Director - Carnegie Institute - Pittsburgh, Pa. - - Packard, Miss Elizabeth G. - Walters Gallery - Baltimore, Md. - - Parker, Thomas C. - Director - American Federation of Arts - Washington, D. C. - - Peat, Wilbur D. - Director - John Herron Art Institute - Indianapolis, Ind. - - Phillips, John Marshall - Assistant Director and Curator of the Garvan Collections - Yale University Art Gallery - New Haven, Conn. - - Poland, Reginald - Director - Fine Arts Society of San Diego - San Diego, Calif. - - Porter, Allen - Secretary - The Museum of Modern Art - New York, N. Y. - - Porter, Vernon - Director - Riverside Museum - New York, N. Y. - - Post, Chandler - Fogg Museum of Art - Harvard University - Cambridge, Mass. - - Rathbone, Perry T. - Director - City Art Museum of St. Louis - St. Louis, Mo. - - Reed, Henry Hope - New York, N. Y. - - Rich, Daniel Catton - Director - The Art Institute of Chicago - Chicago, Ill. - - Riefstahl, Mrs. Elizabeth - Librarian - Wilbour Egyptological Library - The Brooklyn Museum - Brooklyn, N. Y. - - Ritchie, Andrew C. - Director - Albright Art Gallery - Buffalo, N. Y. - - Robinson, Professor David M. - Department of Art and Archaeology - Johns Hopkins University - Baltimore, Md. - - Ross, Marvin Chauncey - Curator of Medieval Art - Walters Gallery - Baltimore, Md. - - Rowe, Margaret T. J. - Curator - Hobart Moore Memorial Collection - Yale University Art Gallery - New Haven, Conn. - - Saint-Gaudens, Homer - Director - Carnegie Institute - Pittsburgh, Pa. - - Scholle, Hardinge - Director - Museum of the City of New York - New York, N.Y. - - Setze, Josephine - Assistant Curator of American Art - Yale University Art Gallery - New Haven, Conn. - - Sexton, Eric - Camden, Me. - - Shelley, Donald A. - Curator of Paintings - New York Historical Society - New York, N. Y. - - Sizer, Theodore - Director - Yale University Art Gallery - New Haven, Conn. - - Slusser, Jean Paul - Professor of Painting and Drawing - University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Mich. - - Smith, Professor E. Baldwin - Department of Art and Archaeology - Princeton University - Princeton, N. J. - - Soby, James Thrall - New York, N. Y. - - Spinden, Dr. Herbert J. - Curator - Indian Art and Primitive Cultures - The Brooklyn Museum - Brooklyn, N. Y. - - Sweeney, James Johnson - Director - Department of Painting and Sculpture - The Museum of Modern Art - New York, N. Y. - - Sweet, Frederick - Associate Curator, Painting and Sculpture - The Art Institute of Chicago - Chicago, Ill. - - Tee Van, John - Department of Tropical Research and Special Events - New York Zoological Park - Bronx, N. Y. - - Vail, R. W. G. - Director - New York Historical Society - New York, N. Y. - - Walker, Hudson D. - President - American Federation of Arts - New York, N.Y. - - Wall, Alexander J. - New York Historical Society - New York, N. Y. - - Washburn, Gordon - Director - Museum of Art - Rhode Island School of Design - Providence, R. I. - - Weissman, Miss Polaire - Museum of Costume Art - New York, N. Y. - - Wissler, Dr. Clark - American Museum of Natural History - New York, N. Y. - - Wind, Edgar - Smith College - Northampton, Mass. - - York, Lewis E. - Chairman - Department of Painting - Yale University Art Gallery - New Haven, Conn. - - Zigrosser, Carl - Curator of Prints and Drawings - Philadelphia Museum of Art - Philadelphia, Pa. - - Stoddard, Whitney S. - Assistant Professor of History and Art - Williams College - Williamstown, Mass. - -Dr. Clapp and Mrs. Force subsequently announced that they had received -eight additional signatures which arrived too late to be affixed -to the original copy of the resolution. They included: Frances A. -Comstock, Donald Drew Egbert, Henry A. Judd, Sherley W. Morgan, Richard -Stillwell—all of Princeton University; Robert Tyler Davis, Portland -Museum, Portland, Maine; Frederick Hartt, Acting Director, Smith College -Museum of Art; and George Rowley, Princeton Museum of Historic Art. - - STATEMENT BY THE AMERICAN COMMISSION FOR THE PROTECTION AND - SALVAGE OF ARTISTIC AND HISTORIC MONUMENTS IN WAR AREAS, - OWEN J. ROBERTS, CHAIRMAN. - - National Gallery of Art, Washington 25, D. C. - - WASHINGTON, May 14, 1946: The members of the Commission have - received copies of a resolution signed by Dr. Frederick M. - Clapp, Director of the Frick Collection; Mrs. Juliana Force, - Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, and others - who criticize the action of the United States Government, - taken at the Direction of the President and the United States - Army Command in Germany, in bringing to this country certain - paintings from German museums for safekeeping until conditions - in Germany warrant their return. The Clapp resolution compares - the action taken by the United States Government to looting - operations carried on by the Nazis during the war. - - The Commission has also noted the statements issued by the - White House on September 26, 1945, and by the War Department - on December 6, 1945, that the works of art of bona fide - German ownership, which may be brought to this country for - safekeeping, will be kept in trust for the German people and - will be returned to Germany when conditions there warrant. - - The Commission has also noted the statement issued by the - late Chief Justice Stone, Chairman of the Board of Trustees - of the National Gallery of Art, on December 14, 1945, that - the Trustees of the National Gallery, at the request of the - Secretary of State, had agreed to arrange for the storage space - for such paintings as might be brought to this country by - the United States Army for safekeeping, and that he felt the - Army “deserved the highest praise for the care exercised in - salvaging these great works of art and in making provisions for - their safety until they can be returned to Germany.” - - The Commission accepts without reservation the promise of the - United States Government, as voiced by its highest officials, - that the works of art belonging to German museums and brought - to this country for safekeeping, will be returned to Germany - when conditions there warrant. - - The Commission is strongly of the opinion that the resolution - sponsored by Dr. Clapp, Mrs. Force, and others is without - justification and is to be deplored. - - Hon. Owen J. Roberts, Chairman - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - - David E. Finley, Vice Chairman - Director, National Gallery of Art - Washington, D.C. - - Huntington Cairns, Secretary - Secretary, National Gallery of Art - Washington, D.C. - - Dr. William Bell Dinsmoor - Columbia University, New York - - Hon. Herbert H. Lehman - New York - - Paul J. Sachs - Professor of Fine Arts, Harvard University - Cambridge, Massachusetts - - Francis Cardinal Spellman - Archbishop of New York - - Francis Henry Taylor - Director, Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York - -The following letters were released on June 10, 1946: - - THE WHITE HOUSE - - Washington - May 22, 1946 - - Dear Mrs. Force: - - This is in acknowledgment of the letter to the President, - signed by yourself and Dr. Frederick M. Clapp, Director, The - Frick Collection, with which you enclosed a resolution signed - by ninety-five of your colleagues in connection with the two - hundred valuable paintings removed from Germany to this country - for safekeeping. - - These paintings were removed to this country last year on the - basis of information to the effect that adequate facilities and - personnel to ensure their safekeeping did not exist in Germany. - Our military authorities did not feel that they could take the - responsibility of safeguarding them under such conditions and - it was therefore decided that they would have to be shipped to - this country until such time as they could safely be returned - to Germany. It was realized at the time that this action might - lead to criticism but it was taken, nevertheless, because it - was considered that the most important aspect was to safeguard - these priceless treasures. It was hoped that the President’s - pledge that they would be returned to Germany, contained in a - White House press release on September 26, 1945, would satisfy - those who might be critical of this Government’s motives. - - I know of no plans to make any further shipments of art objects - from Germany to the United States nor of any plans for the - exhibition of the two hundred paintings now in this country. - While a definite date for the return of these pictures has not - as yet been set, I can assure you that this Government will - honor its pledge to effect their return as soon as conditions - warrant. - - Very sincerely yours, - - (signed) William D. Hassett - Secretary to the President. - - DEPARTMENT OF STATE - - Washington - May 22, 1946 - - My dear Mrs. Force and Dr. Clapp: - - I have received your letter of May 9, 1946, and its enclosed - resolution, signed by 95 of your colleagues, urging the - President to order the immediate safe return to Germany of the - 200 paintings which were brought to this country last year. - - When these paintings were found by our forces in southern - Germany every effort was made to assure their preservation. It - soon became evident that adequate facilities and personnel to - ensure their safe keeping could not be guaranteed. Consequently - our military authorities, realizing the magnitude of their - responsibility in preserving these priceless treasures, - requested that they be relieved of this heavy responsibility - and that the paintings be shipped to this country where they - could be properly cared for. This Government reluctantly gave - its approval to this request, knowing that such action would - lead to criticism of its motives. The decision was taken - because there seemed no other way to ensure preservation of - these unique works of art. In order to dispel doubts as to the - reasons for this action the White House released a statement to - the press on September 26, 1945, which explained the situation - and included a pledge that the paintings would be returned to - their rightful owners. That pledge still holds good and while - a definite date for the return of the paintings to Germany has - not as yet been set, you may rest assured that this will be - done as soon as conditions warrant. - - The resolution also recommended that plans to exhibit - these paintings in this country be cancelled and that - further shipments of German works of art to this country - be countermanded. I have never heard of any plans to make - additional shipments of works of art from Germany to the United - States nor do I know of any plans to exhibit the paintings - which are now in this country. - - Sincerely yours, - - For the Secretary of State: - (signed) Dean Acheson - Under Secretary. - -Following are Dr. Clapp’s and Mrs. Force’s replies, also released on June -10: - - June 3, 1946 - - My dear Mr. President: - - Permit us to thank you for your kind attention to the - resolution, signed by us and ninety-five of our colleagues - prominent on the staffs of museums or experts in the history - and preservation of art, relative to the shipment to this - country of two hundred famous paintings formerly in the Kaiser - Friedrich and other museums of Berlin. - - In addressing the resolution in question to you we felt that - we were following the time-honored American custom of bringing - to our government’s attention a consensus of opinion on the - part of those who have special practical familiarity with - old pictures and personal, sometimes long, acquaintance with - European history and culture in its emotional and intellectual - aspects. - - Should you, in the course of events, undertake further - inquiries into the problem created by the shipment referred to - in our resolution, we shall be happy to be so informed. - - Respectfully yours, - - June 3, 1946 - - Dear Mr. Hassett: - - In reply to your letter of the twenty-second permit us to say - that should the President make further inquiries into the - subject covered by our resolution with reference to two hundred - pictures selected chiefly from the collections of the Kaiser - Friedrich Museum and brought to this country, we should be - pleased to be kept informed. - - We, and our ninety-five colleagues in museums and universities - who have had long experience with old paintings and are - interested in the history and preservation of works of art, - would also be glad to know when the pictures referred to are - returned to Germany since we are as yet uninformed whether the - conditions which are held not to warrant their return are of a - practical or a political nature. - - This question obviously cannot but be uppermost in our minds - in view of the fact that present conditions in Germany are - apparently such as to warrant leaving there thousands of - German-owned works of art of great moment which belong not only - to the Kaiser Friedrich Museum but to the museums of other - cities in the American zone, including the great collection - of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, where under satisfactory - conditions and auspices an exhibition of early German art, - including masterpieces by Dürer, Grünewald and others, is now - being held. - - It is in fact one of our perplexities that we have never been - told why our officials discriminated against important pictures - and art objects (many times the number of those urgently - transported to this country for safekeeping) which were also - formerly in the Kaiser Friedrich and other museums, not - forgetting those which were in South German churches. Were they - just left to their fate? - - If it were convenient at any time to pass on to the President - our continued anxieties on these important points we should be - happy to have you do so. - - Sincerely yours, - - June 3, 1946 - - Dear Mr. Acheson: - - In reply to your letter of the twenty-second with reference to - our resolution supported by the signatures of ninety-five of - our colleagues prominent in museums or experts in the history - and preservation of old masters and other works of art, permit - us to say that, in the absence of Secretary Byrnes, we took the - liberty of sending you the resolution. - - We are aware of the statement released by the White House on - September 26, 1945 explaining the situation and promising to - return the pictures to Germany when conditions there should - warrant such action. We are, however, still uninformed why the - unanimous advice of the monuments officers, who had special - training and technical knowledge not only of the conditions - required for the preservation of old masters but of the certain - dangers to which journeys subject them, was disregarded. - - We have also never been told whether the conditions believed - to jeopardize the safety of these important pictures were of a - practical or of a political nature. Neither do we know why, out - of the great and extensive collections of the Kaiser Friedrich - only two hundred pictures were selected nor by whom the - selection was made. More serious still no official mention has - ever been made of the fact that there were in the possession - of the other museums of Berlin and other cities, including the - famous collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, as well as - in the churches of the American Zone, art objects and pictures - many times more numerous than the paintings actually brought - to this country for safekeeping. One cannot but ask: Were - satisfactory conditions found for them or were they merely left - to their fate? - - These are questions that have given and still give rise to - rumors, unhappy conjectures and ambiguous interpretations which - we deplore. Unreasonably or otherwise the whole situation is - confused by implications that we feel will not be laid until - the pictures deposited in Washington have been sent back with - the least possible delay to their rightful owners on whom - devolves an unequivocable responsibility for their care and - preservation. - - Sincerely yours, - - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[1] E(insatzstab) R(eichsleiter) R(osenberg)—Reichsleiter meaning realm -leader. The Rosenberg Task Force was commonly referred to by these -initials. - -[2] See article “German Paintings in the National Gallery: A Protest,” -by Charles L. Kuhn, in _College Art Journal_, January 1946. This and -subsequent references printed by permission. - -[3] See article “German Paintings in the National Gallery: A Protest,” by -Charles L. Kuhn, in _College Art Journal_, January 1946. - -[4] As printed by Kuhn in _College Art Journal_, January 1946, p. 81; -also in _Magazine of Art_, February 1946, and New York _Times_, February -7, 1946. - -[5] See in this connection the statements released to the press by the -White House on September 26, 1945, and by the War Department on December -6, 1945. They are printed in _Magazine of Art_ for February, 1946. - -[6] These letters are printed on pages 83 and 84 of _College Art Journal_ -for January 1946; in _Magazine of Art_ for February 1946, and in the New -York _Times_ of February 7, 1946. - - - - -INDEX - - - - -INDEX - - - Aachen crown jewels, 119 - - Abbey of Monte Cassino, 152 - - Adams, Capt. Edward, 240 - - Adcock, Maj. Gen. C. L, 272 - - Administration Building, 64, 65 - - _Adoration of the Magi_, Master of the Holy Kinship, 206 - - _Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, The_, van Eyck, 144, 146, 243, 291. - _See also_ Ghent altarpiece - - _Adulteress, The_, _see_ “Vermeer” fake - - Akhnaton, 287 - - Allen, Maj., 125 - - Allied air attacks over Germany, 48 - - Allied Forces, 274 - - Allied Group Control Council for Germany, 15, 49 - - Almanach de Gotha, 27 - - Almelo, 195 - - “Alpine Specials,” 161 - - Alt Aussee, evacuation of pictures at, 130-170; - last ten days at, 171_ff._; - other trips to, 178, 258; - Goudstikker pictures, 267; - mentioned, 58, 107, 118, 177, 184, 186, 192, 202, 204, 210, 213, - 217, 225 - - Alt Aussee mine, evacuation of pictures, 65, 130-170, 240, 254, - 269, 271, 277; - team arrives, 128; - mentioned, 176, 207, 244, 251 - - Altdorfer, Albrecht, 161 - - Altdorfer panels, 162, 165 - - Alte Pinakothek, 255 - - Alte Post, 237 - - Amalienburg, 215 - - American Embassy, London, 20 - - American Embassy, Paris, 265 - - American Fine Arts program, 235 - - American Military Government (AMG), 195, 259, 292 - - American Occupied Zone, 196, 243, 246, 260, 262, 268, 272, 275, 282, - 291, 292, 293 - - Amsterdam, 149, 154, 257, 259, 261, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270 - - Anderson, Lt. George, 84, 85, 86, 102, 112, 190 - - Anderson, Maj. Harry, 180, 187, 188, 189, 190, 192, 222, 225 - - Angerer, ⸺, 219 - - _Annunciation_, Lippi, 152 - - Annunzio, Gabriele d’, 64 - - _Arabian Nights, The_, 20 - - Archival Collecting Point, Oberammergau, 282 - - Army Engineers, 38, 148 - - Army Museum at Prague, 271 - - Army redeployment program, 282 - - Arnhem, 266 - - Arnold, Gen. H. H., 191 - - _Artist’s Sister_, Rembrandt, 194 - - “Art Objects in the U. S. Zone,” 230 - - Aschaffenburg, Germany, 48 - - ATC, 18 - - Austria, 59, 62, 193, 236, 251 - - Austrian collections, 173 - - Austrian Government, 253 - - Autobahn, 31, 46, 71, 72, 76, 81, 83, 102, 109, 111, 203, 213, 214, - 236 - - Azores, 16 - - - Bad Aussee, 128, 131, 158, 181 - - Bad Brückenau, 40, 41, 42, 46 - - Baden-Baden, 242 - - Bad Homburg, 28, 29, 32, 54, 139, 231, 258 - - Bad Ischl, 128, 131, 147, 161, 162, 165, 187 - - Bad Nauheim, 285 - - Bad Reichenhall, 81 - - Bad Tölz, 214 - - Baillie-Grohman, Vice-Adm., 109 - - Bamberg, 247, 248, 250, 271, 282 - - Barbarossa, Frederick, 116 - - Barbizon, 49 - - Barboza, Lt., 158, 187 - - Barrett, Elizabeth, 19 - - Battle of Jutland, 120 - - Bauhaus, Dessau, 35 - - Bavaria, 24, 32, 33, 52, 55, 127, 193, 214, 237, 246, 247, 250, 269 - - “Bavarian Bible,” 214 - - Bavarian State Collections, 276 - - Bavarian State Galleries, 294 - - Bavarian State Museums, 146 - - _Bearded Old Man_, Rembrandt, 194 - - Belgium, 145, 153, 243, 255, 256, 261, 291, 293 - - Bellegambe, Jean, 207 - - Bellotto, ⸺, 251 - - Berchtesgaden, Frau Hofer at, 133; - transfer to, 168, 175, 176, 178, 179, 183, 185, 187; - operations at, 187-226; - mentioned, 81, 180 - - Berchtesgadener Hof, 188, 222 - - Berghof, Berchtesgaden, 146, 192, 222 - - Berlin, 146, 148, 154, 190, 229, 259, 260, 261, 262, 273, 278, 281, - 287, 291 - - Berlin Gallery, 255 - - Berlin Museum, 50, 119, 145, 261, 286 - - Berlin Patent Office, 50 - - Berlin Print Room, 50 - - Berlin Reichsbank, 147 - - Berlin state museums, 32, 234, 246, 294 - - Berlitz School, 74 - - Bernterode, 119, 137 - - Beuningen, Van, Rotterdam collector, 200 - - Biblioteca Herziana, 150 - - Biddle, Col. Anthony, 261, 268 - - Big 3 Conference, 1945, 230 - - Birdcage Walk, 21 - - Black, Col. Ira W., 268 - - _Blind Leading the Blind_, Breughel, 152 - - Blyth, Capt., 61 - - Bohemia, 100 - - Bois, the, 21 - - Bomb Disposal Unit, 216 - - Bonaparte, Pauline, 93 - - Bonn, 118 - - Bonnard, M., 146 - - Bonney, Miss ⸺, 21, 22 - - Borchardt, Dr. Ludwig, 287 - - Bordone, Paris, 166 - - Bormann, Martin, 155, 192 - - Boucher, François, 133, 163, 164 - - Boucher panels, 197 - - Bouillon, Godefroy de, 116 - - Bouts, Dirk, 255 - - Bovingdon, England, 19 - - Boymans Museum, Rotterdam, 199, 200, 202 - - Braun Haus, 64 - - Brecker, Maj., 96 - - Bredius, Dr., 199, 200 - - Breitenbach, Edgar, 281 - - Bremen, 279 - - Brenner Pass, 109 - - Breslau, 254 - - Brest, France, 17 - - Breughel, Pieter, 24, 150, 168 - - Brienner-Strasse, 63, 71, 258 - - Brigade Headquarters, 203, 219, 225 - - British Zone, 266, 282 - - Brixlegg, 109 - - Brooklyn Museum, 232 - - Brown, John Nicholas, 49, 106, 108, 121, 262 - - Browning, Robert, 19 - - Bruges, 149, 255 - - Bruges, Bishop of, 143 - - Brussels, 244, 256, 261 - - Brye, Capt. Hubert de, 240, 256 - - Buchman, Lt. Julius, 35, 37, 38, 40, 53 - - Büchner, Dr. Ernst, 146 - - Buckingham Palace, 21 - - Budapest Museum, 68, 73 - - Budweis, 113 - - Buffalo Museum, 251 - - Buxheim, 215 - - - Cairo Museum, 287 - - California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 15, 166 - - Calvados, 77 - - Cambridge, Mass., 50 - - Cambridge University, 18, 25 - - Canada, 270 - - Canadians, 266 - - Canova, 93 - - Caravaggio, 143 - - Carolinen Platz, 63 - - Carthusian Monastery, Buxheim, 215 - - Casino at Frankfurt, 235 - - Cassidy, ⸺, 266, 267, 268, 270, 271 - - Castle at Posen, 151 - - Castle of Neuschwanstein, _see_ Schloss Neuschwanstein - - Cathedral at Cologne, 119 - - Cathedral of Metz, 27, 233 - - Cathedral of St. Bavon, Ghent, 145 - - Central Collecting Point, Frankfurt, 247, 248 - - Central Collecting Point, Marburg, 276, 282, 292, 293 - - Central Collecting Point, Munich, 77, 127, 196, 207, 214, 216, 220, - 222, 227, 231, 236, 244, 245, 251, 256, 258, 261, 271, 276, - 282, 292, 293 - - Central Collecting Point, Wiesbaden, 275, 276, 277, 278, 282, 286, - 292, 293 - - “C.G.R.,” _see_ Dutch Restitution Commission - - Chamberlain, Neville, 65 - - Champs Élysées, 18 - - Channel Islands, 16 - - Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, 143 - - Chardin, Jean Baptiste Siméon, 245 - - Château of Pau, 145 - - “Chicken,” 57-58 - - Chiemsee, 81, 126, 179 - - Chiemsee Lake, Bavaria, 72 - - Chinesisches Kabinett from Schönbrunn, 144 - - _Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery_, Vermeer, 198 - - _Christ Appearing to Mary_, Master of the Holy Kinship, 206 - - _Christ at Emmaus_, Vermeer, 199, 200, 201 - - Church of Notre Dame, 143 - - Church of St. Mary, Cracow, 252 - - Church of St. Pierre, 255 - - Church of Santa Maria im Kapitol, 119 - - “CIC boys,” 221 - - City Detachment, Wiesbaden, 286 - - City Detachments, 284 - - Clark, Gen. Mark, 59, 169, 176, 186 - - “Class C” works of art, 230 - - Clay, Gen. Lucius D., 230, 262, 273, 275, 281 - - Coburg, 248, 249, 250, 251 - - Coburg Detachment, 249 - - Coin Room, _see_ Münz Kabinett - - _College Art Journal_, 230, 262, 274_n._ - - Cologne, 233, 266 - - Cologne school, 206 - - _Commission de Récupération Artistique_, 196, 264, 266 - - _Commission de Récupération Générale_, 196 - - Conrad, Emperor, 252 - - _Cook, The_, Chardin, 234 - - Copper mine, Westphalia, 118 - - Coremans, Dr. Paul, 256 - - Coulter, Hamilton, rehabilitation of Verwaltungsbau, 64; - described, 66-67; - Rothschild jewels, 177; - “Bavarian Bible,” 214; - accompanies token restitution to Paris, 245-246; - rehabilitation of Führerbau, 256; - transports panels from Munich, 271; - mentioned, 68, 106, 127 - - Courbet landscapes, 198 - - Coypel painting, 205 - - Cracow, 254 - - Cracow, Archbishop of, 263 - - Cracow, altarpiece, 252 - - Cracow, tapestries, 151 - - Cranach, Lucas, 182, 235 - - Cranachs, the, 202 - - C rations, 79, 126 - - Crosby, Sumner, 20 - - “Crown of Charlemagne,” 252 - - Crown of St. Stephen, 287 - - _Crucifixion_, Bellegambe, 206 - - _Crucifixion_, Van Dyck, 152 - - Crusaders’ Hall, 115 - - Csanky, Dr., 73, 74, 75, 76 - - Csanky, (son of Dr.), 74 - - Czech government, 164, 271 - - Czechoslovakia, 85, 87, 196, 271, 272, 293 - - Czechs, 89, 112, 113, 117, 123 - - Czernin, Count, 152 - - Czernin family, the, 152 - - “Czernin Vermeer,” 152 - - - Dachau, 54, 63 - - Dalferes, Col. Roy, 251, 254 - - _Danaë_, Titian, 152 - - Danube River, 86, 87, 112, 117, 125, 151 - - Darmstadt, 229, 250 - - Daumier, Honoré, 232 - - David, Gerard, 143 - - David-Weill, M., 239, 240, 266 - - David-Weill Collection, 239 - - Davitt, Lt. Col. Harold S., 131, 168, 169, 170, 183, 184, 185, 225 - - del Garbo, Raffaellino, 208 - - Della Robbia plaques, 90, 99, 114 - - del Robbia, Luca, 92 - - Dérain, André, 241 - - Dessau, 35 - - Dewald, Col., 251, 254 - - Displaced Persons, _see_ DPs - - Döbler, Herr, 127 - - Dollfuss, Chancellor of Austria, 165 - - “Double Roger,” _see_ Roget, Roger - - DP camps, 281 - - DPs (Displaced Persons), 63, 248, 281 - - Dresden, 254 - - Dresden Gallery, 163, 250 - - Dreyfus, M., 265 - - Duisburg, 266 - - Dunn, Capt., 49, 50, 51 - - Dürer, Albrecht, 252 - - Dutch Government, 200, 202, 257 - - _Dutch Interior_, Pieter de Hooch, 198 - - Dutch Restitution Commission (CGR), 196, 267, 270 - - - Eagle’s Nest, 192, 193, 195, 205, 217 - - Eastern Military District (of American Zone), 246, 260, 276 - - ECAD Headquarters, 28, 30, 231 - - Eder, Max, 140, 141, 184, 185 - - Edinburgh, Duke of, 249 - - Edward VII, 29 - - Eggebrecht, Dr. William, 250 - - Egyptian tomb figures, 151 - - Ehrenbreitstein, 146 - - Ehrentempel, 64 - - 80th Infantry Division, 147 - - Eigruber, Gauleiter, 155 - - _Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg_ (E.R.R.), 22, 23_n._, 24, 149, - 183, 215, 227, 237, 238, 241 - - Eisenhower, Gen. Dwight D., 49, 154, 243, 244, 270, 271, 293 - - 11th Armored Division, 61, 125, 131, 159 - - Elkins Park, 51 - - Ellenlittay, Madame, 75, 76 - - Embankment, the, 21 - - Emerich, 266 - - Erhardt, Gregor, 205 - - E.R.R., _see_ Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg - - Essen, 232 - - Essen pictures, 232 - - Estreicher, Maj. Charles, 272 - - Étoile, 18 - - European Civil Affairs Division, 28 - - Excelsior, the, 226 - - Exposition Building, 259 - - Eyck, Hubert van, 144 - - Eyck, Jan van, 144 - - - Faison, Lt. Lane, 177, 179, 181 - - Farben, I. G., 29, 38, 229, 259 - - Farmer, Capt. Walter, 247, 277, 278, 284, 286 - - Featherstone, Col. W. B., 176 - - Feldherren-Halle, 56 - - Ferdinand, Archduke Franz, 164 - - Feste Coburg, 248 - - Fest-Saal, 238 - - Fifteen Army (U. S.), 285 - - Fifth Army (U. S.), 169, 176 - - Fine Arts Commission, 196 - - First Army (U. S.), 118, 232 - - Fogg Museum, Harvard University, 31, 51 - - Forchheim, 253 - - 44th AAA Brigade, 179, 203 - - Fourth of July, 113, 114, 117 - - Fragonard, Jean Honoré, 240 - - France, 16, 145, 153, 232, 245, 256, 261, 264, 265, 293 - - Franconia, 46 - - Frank (Nazi Governor of Poland), 249, 251 - - Frankfurt, Howe assigned to, 35-53; - trips to, 168, 227, 229, 232, 235, 251, 264, 277; - Naval Headquarters, 236; - Reichsbank at, 246, 287; - Collecting Point, 247; - USFET Headquarters, 255, 259, 272; - _Land_ office in, 282; - mentioned, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 58, 67, 161, 244, 249, 254, 258, - 261, 263, 266, 271, 273, 279, 281, 285 - - Franklin, James, 35 - - Franz Josef, Emperor, 93, 131 - - Frauenkirche, 55, 63 - - Frederick the Great, 119, 234 - - Frederick William, 119 - - Freedberg, ⸺, 213, 214 - - French collections, 238, 245 - - French Committee for Fine Arts, 24 - - French Military Government, 294 - - French National Museums, 145 - - French Resistance Movement, 69 - - French Zone, 242 - - Führerbau, 65, 77, 256 - - Führer-museum, Linz, 93, 144, 151 - - Füssen, 237, 240 - - Fuschl See, Lake, 130, 186 - - - Gablerbräu, 187 - - Gasthaus Sonne, 233 - - Gelder, Dr. van, 200 - - Gelnhausen, Germany, 40 - - German Occupation of Netherlands, 267 - - Gersaint, M., 234 - - _Gersaint’s Signboard_, Watteau, 234 - - G-5, 58 - - Ghent altarpiece, 27, 144-146, 159, 161, 255, 256, 291. - _See also_ _Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, The_ - - Giessen, 231 - - Gipsmühle, 241 - - Glinz, ⸺, 154 - - Glyptothek (museum), 64 - - Göring, Frau Emmy, 191, 206 - - Göring, Hermann, supports Rosenberg, 22; - choice of treasures, 23; - and Hofer, 132; - search for Ghent altarpiece, 146-147; - Italian works of art, 152-153; - “Vermeer,” 182, 191, 192, 198-201, 270; - taste in pictures, 182, 207; - special train, 190; - Renders Collection, 191; - pictures from Karinhall, 204; - swords, 209, 210; - plans for museum, 210; - and Görnnert, 219, 220; - search at Berchtesgaden, 225; - negotiates with Louvre, 234; - and Rochlitz, 241, 242 - - Göring Collection, 132, 133, 168, 171, 180, 194, 195, 207, 218, 222, - 225, 239, 256, 267, 270, 289 - - Görnnert, Frau, 219 - - Görnnert, Fritz, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223 - - Gogh, Vincent van, 232, 250 - - Goisern, 131, 171 - - Golden Madonna, 233 - - “Gold Room,” 188, 208, 210 - - Golowine, Princess, 78 - - Goudstikker, ⸺, 151, 267 - - Goudstikker house, 267, 269 - - Goyen, Jan van, 235 - - Grandes Écuries, 21 - - Grand Parc Hotel, 30, 34 - - Grassau, 73, 76, 79 - - Greater Hesse, 246, 277, 282, 285 - - Greece, 196, 293 - - Greek government, 144 - - Greek sarcophagus from Salonika, 144, 160 - - Grosvenor Square, 19 - - Group CC, _see_ U. S. Group Control Council - - Group Control Council, _see_ U. S. Group Control Council - - Gründlsee, 139 - - Grundmann, Dr., 249, 250 - - G-2, 219 - - Guelph family, 288 - - Guiscard, Robert, 116 - - Gutmann Collection, 151 - - - Haagen, van, 268 - - Hague, The, 200, 261 - - Hals, Frans, 78, 150, 245, 250, 270 - - Hamann, Prof. Richard, 234, 276 - - Hamilton, Lt. Col. William, 59, 62 - - Hammond, Maj. Mason, 49, 50, 52, 106, 108, 121 - - Hanau, Germany, 29, 54 - - Hancock, Walter, 118, 119, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 276, 277, 278 - - Harvard University, 25, 31, 49, 50 - - Haus der Deutschen Kunst, 55, 64, 92, 166 - - Havre, Le, 279 - - Hearst Collection (at Gimbel’s), 91 - - Heerengracht, 267 - - Heidelberg, 179, 260, 269, 276, 280 - - Heilbronn mine, 282 - - Heller, Lt. Col. Homer K., 176, 178 - - Henraux, ⸺, 266 - - Herculaneum, 152 - - Hermann Göring Division, 152 - - Herrenchiemsee, 215 - - Hess, Rudolf, 91 - - Hesse, Province of, 231 - - Hesse family, 40 - - Hesse-Nassau, 55 - - Hindenburg, Paul von, 119 - - Hintersee, 224, 225 - - Hitler, Adolf, choice of treasure, 23; - Götterdämmerung idea, 24; - Haus der Deutschen Kunst, 55; - taste, 61, 136, 151; - D’Annunzio’s villa, 63; - offices, 65; - Lanckoroncki Collection, 78; - love for Linz, 83; - Weinzinger, 84; - presents _Ungaria_ to Horthy, 86; - Hohenfurth monastery, 89, 91; - Canova statue, 93; - Czernin Vermeer, 152; - approves destruction of Alt Aussee mine, 155; - approves pictures for museums, 162, 163; - Robert _Landscape_, 184, 185; - Eagle’s Nest, 192, 193, 194; - cognac from Berghof stock, 222; - pictures at St. Agatha, 223, 225 - - Höchst, 229, 259, 260, 261, 272 - - Hoechst, Germany, 49 - - Hofer, Frau, 133 - - Hofer, Walter Andreas, 132, 133, 181, 182, 199, 200 - - Hohenfurth, arrangements for evacuation, 78, 79, 82, 84, 86; - Howe’s first trip to, 87-100; - second trip to, 104-129; - mentioned, 135, 216, 240 - - Hohenfurth altarpiece, 151, 271 - - Hohenfurth monastery, 62, 66, 87-100, 104-129, 240 - - Hohenschwangau, 241 - - Hohenzollerns, the, 235 - - Holbein, Hans, 250 - - Holland, 153, 154, 194, 258, 261, 293 - - Holy Roman Empire, 27, 252 - - Holzinger, Dr., 44 - - Holzinger, Frau, 44, 45 - - Horn, Lt. Walter, 253, 271 - - Hornbeck, Stanley, 268 - - Horthy, Adm., 86 - - House, 71, 128, 132, 179, 181, 182, 183, 184, 210 - - Houses of Parliament, 21 - - Howe, Francesca, 15 - - Hümmel, Dr. Helmut von, 163 - - Hungen, 280, 281 - - - Imperial Treasure Room, _see_ Schatzkammer - - Iname, Baron von, 110 - - Iname, Fräulein von, 110 - - Innsbruck, 109 - - Innsbruck Museum, 110 - - Institute for the Investigation of the Jewish Question, _see_ - Institut zur Erforschung der Judenfrage - - _Institut zur Erforschung der Judenfrage_, 280 - - Isar River, 57, 71 - - Italy, 109, 153, 193, 289 - - - Jaffé, Lt. Hans, 269 - - _James Parker_, the, 279, 289, 290, 291 - - Japan, 168, 233 - - _Jesus Confounding the Doctors_, Van Meegeren, 201 - - Jeu de Paume, 24 - - Jewish art collections, 22, 195, 241, 246 - - Jewish libraries, 280 - - Jubiläumsbau (Jubilee Building), 234, 235 - - Jubilee Building, _see_ Jubiläumsbau - - - Kaiser Friedrich Museum, 34, 49, 276, 278, 291 - - Kaiser Josef chamber, 159 - - Kaiser Josef mine, 142, 144 - - Kaiser Saal, 48 - - Kammergrafen, 150, 151, 153, 162, 163, 164, 166, 173 - - Kapelle, the, 160, 164, 165 - - Karinhall, 146, 190, 204, 210 - - Karlsruhe, 282 - - Karlstadt-on-the-Main, 46 - - Kassel, 231, 282 - - Kassel Museum, 137 - - Katz, Dutch dealer, 194 - - Katz Collection, 198 - - Keck, Sheldon, 232 - - Keegan, Col. Charles, 67 - - Keitel, Gen., 203 - - Kelleher, Capt. Joseph, 277, 278, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288 - - Kirstein, Lincoln, 58, 59, 61, 66, 68, 105, 108, 117, 147, 177, 178, - 184, 214, 251 - - _Kloster_, 89 - - Kluss, Col. Walter, 263, 264, 271, 286, 288 - - _Knights of Christ_, van Eyck, 145 - - Kochendorf, 282 - - Königsplatz, 63, 65, 68, 71, 80, 102, 177, 244 - - Königssee, 180 - - Konopischt Collection, 165 - - Kopernikus-Strasse, 66 - - Kovalyak, Lt. Steve, identified, 118; - introduced, 135, 136, 137-138; - Alt Aussee operations, 139-140, 148, 149, 156, 158, 159, 162, 164, - 165, 169, 171, 172, 173; - Rothschild jewels, 175; - Steyr truck, 183, 186, 224-225; - and Kress, 210-211, 226; - loading at Berchtesgaden, 212, 213, 216, 217, 218; - Görnnert house, 221; - trip to Frankfurt, 227-229; - to Marburg, 231-232; - Neuschwanstein operations, 239-242, 266; - Belgian restitution, 244; - Stoss altarpiece, 253; - Team split, 254-255, 256; - back to Alt Aussee, 258, 277; - redeployment, 278; - mentioned, 180, 182, 187, 189, 203, 204, 207, 222, 223, 251, 259 - - K rations, 70, 77, 79, 125, 226 - - Kress, ⸺, 137, 183, 204, 207, 210, 211, 212, 213, 221, 225, 226, 239 - - Krummau, 96, 100, 101, 114 - - Kufstein, 109 - - Kuhn, Lt. Charles, USNR, Webb’s deputy, 18, 24; - meeting with Howe, 25, 26; - at Frankfurt, 38; - mission to Bad Brückenau and Schloss Rossbach, 40-45; - and Merkers mine, 48-51; - sends Howe to Munich, 52-53, 58; - and removal of art works to the United States, 229, 230, 262; - helps form Special Evacuation Team, 231, 236; - transfer of Berlin collections to Wiesbaden, 246-247; - to Frankfurt, 251; - released from active duty, 255; - mentioned, 19, 27, 228, 264 - - Kurhaus, Frankfurt, 30 - - Kurhaus, Wiesbaden, 31 - - - La Bretesche, Col. A. J. de, 263 - - Lacy, Capt. George, 256 - - _Länder_, 55, 282, 283 - - La Farge, Maj. Bancel, advance office of MFA&A, 31; - Howe meets, 32-33; - at Berchtesgaden, 192; - restitutions, 195-196, 244, 245, 256, 261, 263, 267; - problem of removal of art works to the United States, 229, 230, - 262, 272-285; - Special Evacuation Team, 231; - new assignments, 254; - at Höchst, 259; - MFA&A policies, 260, 264; - and Lovegrove, 265; - mentioned, 37, 62, 202, 228, 251, 271 - - Lambach, 102, 125 - - Lanckoroncki Collection, 78 - - Lancret, Nicolas, 150, 198, 245 - - Landesmuseum, 246 - - _Land_ offices, 282 - - _Landscape_, Lorraine, 152 - - _Landscape_, Robert, 184 - - Lanz Collection, 149 - - Last Supper, 253 - - Laufen, 131, 167 - - Laufen salt mine, 24 - - Law, 52, 280 - - Leclancher, ⸺, 69, 70, 74, 76, 77, 80, 82, 83, 88, 94, 95, 98, 101, - 123 - - _Lederhosen_, 80, 138 - - Léhar, Franz, 165 - - Lenbach, 78 - - Leonfelden, 86, 87 - - Leopold, King of Belgium, 165 - - Lesley, Capt. Everett Parker, Jr., 285 - - Limburg, 266 - - Lindbergh, Charles, 14 - - Linz, 78, 82, 83, 87, 101, 102, 111, 113, 117, 123, 124, 125, 128, - 151, 161 - - Linz Collections, 163 - - Linz Museum, 160, 162, 164 - - List of Protected Monuments, 248 - - Loggia dei Lanzi, 56 - - London, England, 17, 19, 20, 267 - - London Naval Headquarters, 19 - - Longchamps, 21 - - Longuy, Lt. Pierre, 256 - - Loser, Mt., 138 - - Louvain, 255 - - Louvre, 145, 205, 206, 207, 234, 239 - - Lovegrove, Lt. William, 264, 265, 266 - - Lower Bavaria, 282 - - Lucienne, 36 - - “Lucky Rear,” 53, 56 - - Ludwig, Prince of Hesse, 249, 250 - - Ludwig bridge, 57 - - Ludwig I, 56 - - Ludwigsburg, 229 - - Ludwig II, 215, 237, 238 - - _Ludwigs of Bavaria, The_, Channon, 214 - - Ludwig-Strasse, 56 - - Luftwaffe, 22, 180, 204 - - Luithlen, Dr. Victor, 167 - - Luxembourg, 147 - - - McBride, Col. Harry, 273, 275, 278, 279 - - Macmillan Committee, 20 - - “Mad King” of Bavaria, _see_ Ludwig II - - _Madonna and Child_, Florentine sculpture, 92 - - _Madonna and Child_ (Madonna from Bruges), Michelangelo, 27, 142, - 143, 144, 149, 159, 161, 164, 207, 223, 224, 255 - - _Madonna of Bürgermeister Meyer_, Holbein, 250 - - _Madonna of the Divine Love_, Raphael, 152 - - Magdalene, statue, 205 - - Main River, 46 - - Mainzer Landstrasse, 29 - - Manet, Édouard, 232 - - Mannheim, 229, 279 - - Mannheimer Collection, 91, 92, 106, 151 - - _Man with a Turban_, Rembrandt, 194, 195 - - Marburg, 32, 118, 231, 235, 278, 283, 294 - - Margarethe, Landgräfin of Hesse, 40, 249 - - Maria, 139, 165 - - Maria-Elisa, Princess of Lucca, 93 - - Marienberg fortress, 46 - - Marseilles, 195 - - Maspero, M., 287 - - Master of the Holy Kinship, 206 - - Mathilde-Strasse, 226 - - Matisse, Henri, 241 - - Mauritshuis (museum), 200 - - Medical Office, 20 - - Mediterranean Sea, 42 - - Meegeren, Henrik Van, 201, 202 - - Meer, Capt. ter, 267, 268 - - _Mein Kampf_, Hitler, 152 - - Mellon, Andrew, 148, 152 - - _Mercury and Venus_, Boucher, 234 - - Merkers, Germany, 16 - - Merkers mine, 32, 49, 119, 278, 287 - - Merrill, Comm. Keith, 279 - - “Merry Widow Waltz,” 165 - - MFA&A, _see_ Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of U. S. - Forces, European Theater - - Michel, Dr. Hermann, 183 - - Michelangelo, 143. - _See also_ _Madonna and Child_ - - Miedl, ⸺, 267 - - Military Government Detachments, 33, 35, 40, 66, 103, 127, 139, 176, - 236, 237, 248, 249 - - Miller, Maj. Luther, 219, 220, 221, 223, 224 - - Miller, Maj. Paul, 189 - - Millionen Zimmer, 144 - - Mineral Kabinett, 144, 148, 160 - - Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences (Holland), 202 - - Ministry of Fine Arts (Belgium), 256 - - Moldau River, 100, 114 - - Monastery of St. Florian, 161 - - Mondsberg chamber, 166 - - Monte Cassino, 152, 153 - - Mont St. Martin, church of, 58 - - Mont St. Michel, 17 - - Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of U. S. Forces, European - Theater, Howe assigned to, 15; - Webb heads at SHAEF, 18; - offices at Versailles, 21; - Kuhn in, 25; - and SHAEF, 28; - La Farge with, 31; - at Munich, 58-59; - work of, 118; - Walker inspects, 192; - official position, 195-196; - Ritchie joins, 251; - Howe as Deputy Chief, 255; - personnel problems, 257, 273, 283-284, 293, 294; - headquarters transferred, 259; - restitution, 264; - removal of art works to United States, 272, 275-292; - mentioned, 40, 135, 254 - - Monuments of Middle Ages, 61 - - Moore, Lt. Lamont, described, 105-106, 107; - Howe meets, 116, 117; - previous work, 118-120; - Canova Muse, 121; - to Linz, 123, 125; - to Munich, 126, 127; - to Alt Aussee, 128, 129, 130; - operations at Alt Aussee, 131-171, 173-177; - and Kirstein, 177-178; - to Berchtesgaden, 179, 180, 185, 186, 187; - and Hofer, 181-182; - and Dr. Michel, 183-184; - and Göring Collection, 189-213, 219; - trip to Munich, 213-214; - to St. Agatha, 224-225; - to Frankfurt, 227-229; - Special Team, 228, 231, 256; - and Walker Hancock, 232; - at Neuschwanstein, 239-240, 266; - Rochlitz, 241; - Belgian restitution, 244; - trip to Coburg, 247, 249, 251; - resumes evacuation at Alt Aussee, 254, 255, 258, 277; - assigned to Wiesbaden, 278, 279; - mentioned, 114, 216, 221, 223, 253, 259, 269 - - Mouscron brothers of Bruges, 143 - - Mozartplatz, 82, 187 - - Münz Kabinett, 160, 164 - - Munich, Smyth assigned to, 32, 33; - Howe to fly to, 52, 53; - field work begins, 54-79; - back to, 93, 96, 98, 99, 102; - Stout visits, 106; - exhibitions, 151; - convoy to, 159, 218, 236; - trips to, 161, 162, 213, 217, 272; - Haus de Deutschen Kunst in, 166; - Rothschild jewels, 174; - Central Collecting Point, 196, 220, 222, 231, 244, 251, 271, 282; - museums of, 238; - to Paris, 245; - Third Army Headquarters, 246, 260; - return to, 254; - last operations in, 255; - convoys from Amsterdam, 257; - French representative in, 264; - plane from, 268; - Vorenkamp’s work, 269; - Belgium representative in, 280; - _et passim_ - - Munich Pact of 1938, 65 - - _Muse_, Canova, 121 - - Musée du Jeu de Paume, 23, 245, 264, 265, 266 - - Mussolini, Benito, 55, 184, 185, 209, 210, 223, 225 - - Mutter, Dr., 89-99, 102, 113, 114, 116, 121-124 - - Mutter family, 124 - - Myers, Capt., 125 - - _Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine, The_, David, 197 - - - Naarden, 270 - - Naples Museum, 152 - - Napoleon, 93 - - National Gallery, Edinburgh, 199 - - National Gallery of Art, 16, 105, 192, 273, 278, 279, 289, 294 - - Nattier, ⸺, 150 - - Netherlands Government, 270 - - _Neue Residenz_, 247, 248 - - Neue Staatsgalerie, 64 - - Neumann, Johann Balthasar, 47 - - Neuschwanstein, _see_ Schloss Neuschwanstein - - Newark Museum, 105 - - New York _Times_, 274_n._, 288, 290, 292 - - New York _Times Overseas Weekly_, 289, 290 - - _Night Watch_, Rembrandt, 270 - - 1923 beer-hall “putsch,” 64 - - Ninth Army Headquarters, 118 - - North Sea, 42 - - Nürnberg, 236, 243-258, 272 - - Nunnery on the Mathilde-Strasse, 226 - - - Oberammergau, 215, 282 - - Ober-Donau, 154 - - Obersalzberg, 192, 223 - - Offenbach, 280, 281, 282, 285 - - Office of Military Government for Germany (U. S.), 291 - - Olympus and the Four Continents, 47 - - 101st Airborne Division, 180, 190, 209, 210, 222 - - Ooley, Capt. Wyman, 35, 36 - - Opera House, Frankfurt, 29, 35 - - Opera House, Wiesbaden, 31 - - Oppenheim, E. Phillips, 20 - - Orly field, 17, 19, 21, 28 - - Ortenburg, Countess of, 250 - - OSS, 20, 128, 241, 249 - - Ottobeuren, 215 - - Oud Bussum, 270 - - - Pacher, Michael, 165 - - _Painted Queen, The, see_ Queen Nefertete - - Palace at Darmstadt, 250 - - Palace of Versailles, 115 - - Palais Edinburgh, 249 - - Pannini, 185 - - Pannwitz, Mme. Catalina van, 194 - - Pannwitz, Van, Collection, 194 - - Paris, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 37, 148, 167, 194, 195, 199, 215, 223, - 227, 239, 241, 245, 264, 265, 279, 280 - - Paris Naval Headquarters, 19, 26 - - Parkhurst, Lt. (jg) Charles, 240 - - Passau, 113, 117 - - _Passion of Christ_, altarpiece, 206 - - Patton, Gen. George, 57, 228 - - Patuxent airport, 13 - - Pau Museum, 146 - - Peck, Sgt. Edward, 188, 189, 202, 204, 208, 212, 222 - - Pelz, Lt. Milton A., 249 - - Petites Écuries, 21 - - Philip of Hesse, 40, 249 - - “Photo Marburg,” 234 - - Picasso, Pablo, 241, 242 - - Pilsen, 254 - - Place de la Concorde, 18, 23 - - Place Vendôme, 17 - - Platter Hof, 192 - - Plaut, Lt. Jim, 20, 128, 131, 132, 133, 179, 181, 184, 241 - - Pötschen Pass, 131, 171, 184 - - Poland, 50, 196, 252, 254, 260, 272, 293 - - Poland, King of, 252 - - Polis, Lt. Col. H., 267 - - _Polnische Grausamkeit, Die_ (_The Polish Atrocity_), 224 - - Polyhymnia, statue by Canova, 93 - - Pompeii, 152 - - _Portrait of a Lady Sealing a Letter_, Chardin, 234 - - _Portrait of a Young Woman_, Bordone, 166 - - _Portrait of Pope Clement VII_, Sebastiano del Piombo, 152 - - _Portrait of the Artist in His Studio_, Vermeer, 151 - - _Portrait of the Artist’s Mother_, Whistler, 232 - - Posey, Capt. Robert, Third Army Monuments Officer, 58, 59; - described, 60, 67; - sends Howe to Grassau, 68; - Hohenfurth evacuation, 104, 105, 107, 108; - Howe to Alt Aussee, 128; - and Ghent altarpiece, 147, 148; - Bormann letter, 155; - Rothschild jewels, 175; - instructions to Howe, 178, 179; - and Michel, 184; - plans, 215; - St. Agatha pictures, 223; - sends team to Hohenfurth, 227; - Belgian restitution, 244, 245; - demobilized, 246; - mentioned, 62, 75, 78, 85, 103, 112, 139, 177, 213, 214, 219, 225, - 236 - - Posse, Dr. Hans, 163 - - Posthumus-Meyjes, Col. W. C., 270 - - Poulard, Mère, 17 - - Prague, 254 - - _Presentation in the Temple_, Master of the Holy Kinship, 206 - - Prien, 72, 73 - - Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, 46, 47 - - Prince Regent of Belgium, 244 - - Prinz Karl Palais, 55 - - Prinz Regenten-Strasse, 55, 57 - - Prinz-Regenten Theater, 66 - - Property Control, 63 - - Prussia, King of, 145 - - Punxsutawney, Pa., 118 - - Putnam, Capt., 204 - - PX rations, 129, 256 - - - Queen Nefertete, statue, 50, 286, 287 - - - Rackham, Arthur, 80 - - Rae, Capt. Edwin, 50, 51, 53, 246, 247, 248, 250, 251, 253, 254, - 261, 271 - - Raphael, 262 - - Ratensky, Lt. Samuel, 277, 284, 285 - - “Raven, The,” Poe, 167 - - Red Cross Club, 18, 31, 266 - - Reeds, Cpl. James, 259, 261, 263 - - Regional Military Government office, Munich, 33 - - Regnitz River, 248 - - Reichsbank, Frankfurt, 32, 48, 51, 52, 53, 108, 246, 261, 287 - - Reichskanzlei, Berlin, 151 - - Reichszeugmeisterei (Quartermaster Corps buildings), 57 - - Rembrandt, 44, 150, 151, 153, 262 - - Renders, M., 191 - - Renders Collection at Brussels, 191 - - René, 36 - - Reparations, Deliveries and Restitution Division of the U. S. Group - Control Council, 195. - _See also_ Group Control Council - - Residenz, at Würzburg, 47, 48, 280 - - Restitution Commission, 270 - - Restitution Control Branch of the Economics Division, 259, 263, 264 - - “Return of the Old Masters, The,” Exhibition, 270 - - Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 150 - - Rhineland museums, 32, 118 - - Rhine River, 266 - - Ribbentrop, von, 130 - - Ribera, 185 - - _Richmond, Duke of_, Van Dyck, 198 - - Rifkind, Judge Samuel, 281 - - Rijksmuseum, 154, 267, 269, 270 - - _Ring of the Nibelung_, Wagner, 66 - - Ritchie, Andrew, 251 - - Robert, Hubert, 172, 185 - - Roberts, Justice, 15 - - Roberts Commission, 15, 20, 25, 31, 192, 262 - - Rochlitz, Gustav, 241, 242 - - Roel, Jonkheer, 267 - - Roget, Roger, 71, 81, 82, 83, 95, 96, 98, 101, 134 - - Rollin, Armand, 232 - - Rorimer, Lt. James, 105, 238, 280 - - Rosenberg, Alfred, 22, 100, 101, 114, 149 - - Rosenberg, castle of, 114 - - Rosenberg, Dukes of, 100 - - Rosenberg Task Force, _see_ Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg - - Rosenheim, 102, 109, 128 - - Rosenheimer-Strasse, 57, 71 - - Ross, Gen., 279 - - Rothschild, Baron Édouard de, 198 - - Rothschild Collection, 91, 106, 151 - - Rothschild jewels, 174-175, 177 - - Rothschild Library, 281, 286 - - Rothschild treasures, 239 - - Rothschilds, of Paris, 205 - - Rothschilds, of Vienna, 151 - - Rousseau, Lt. Ted, 128, 131, 132, 133, 179, 181, 183, 184, 241 - - Royal Monceau (hotel), 18, 19, 21, 223 - - Rubens, Peter Paul, 78, 150, 153, 172, 182, 198, 199, 235, 245 - - Rudolf, of Mayerling, 93 - - Rue Berthier, 27, 30 - - Rue Castiglione, 17 - - Rue de Rivoli, 17 - - Rue Presbourg, 19 - - Russian Ballet, 167 - - Russian Military Government, 294 - - Russian Zone of Occupied Germany, 248, 249 - - Ruysdael, Jacob, 235 - - - Sachs, Prof., 50 - - _Sacra Conversazione_, Vecchio, 152 - - St. Agatha, 131, 184, 223, 225 - - St. Barbara, statues, 207, 224 - - St. George and the Dragon statues, 207 - - St. Gilgen, 128, 130 - - St. John, 148, 253 - - St. John Nepomuk, 100 - - _St. John the Baptist_, panel, 145 - - St. Paul, 253 - - St. Paul’s, London, 21 - - St. Peter, 253 - - St. Wolfgang, 128, 165 - - St. Wolfgang See, 130 - - Salonika, 144, 160 - - Salzburg, 24, 25, 59, 61, 68, 81, 83, 102, 111, 113, 125, 128, 130, - 162, 168, 171, 175, 176, 178, 182, 187, 192 - - “Sammlung Berta,” 151 - - San Francisco, Calif., 14, 15, 166, 240, 257 - - _Saskia_, Rembrandt, 194 - - Sattler, Dietrich, 256 - - Saxony, 55 - - Schatzkammer, 252, 253 - - Schiller, von, 186 - - Schiphol airport, 267, 268, 271 - - Schloss Banz, 250, 271 - - Schloss Friedrichshof, 40 - - Schloss Konopischt, 164, 165 - - Schloss Kronberg, 38 - - Schloss Lichtwert, 110 - - Schloss Linderhof, 215 - - Schloss Marzoll, 225 - - Schloss Matzen, 109, 110 - - Schloss Neuschwanstein, 148, 215, 219, 227, 236, 237-242, 266 - - Schloss Rossbach, 42, 44 - - Schloss Stauffeneck-Tiereck, 225 - - Schloss Tambach, 249, 250, 251 - - Schloss Wiesenthau, 253 - - Schmedes, von, 109 - - Schönborn family, the, 47 - - Schuvalov, Prince, 78 - - Schwannenstadt, 125 - - _Seduction_, Boucher, 197 - - _Self-Portrait_, Rembrandt, 233 - - Seligmann, Paris art dealer, 206 - - Seventh Army (U. S.), 105, 228, 238, 260, 269 - - “Seven Wonders of Bavaria,” 215 - - SHAEF, 15, 18, 21, 49, 59, 195, 248 - - SHAEF Headquarters, 28, 29, 38 - - Sheehan, Lt. Col. John R., 86, 87, 89, 93, 99, 102, 113 - - Shrady, Lt. Frederick, 135, 136, 139, 140, 148, 156, 162, 165, 167, - 179, 182, 183 - - Siberechts, Jan, 185 - - Sieber, Karl, German restorer, 136, 140; - and mine train, 141, 142; - Ghent altarpiece, 148; - evacuation of Alt Aussee, 149, 150; - described, 154; - Hitler’s plans for destruction of mine, 155-156; - in the Kammergrafen, 162-163, 173-174; - mentioned, 153, 183, 184, 185 - - Siegen, Westphalia, 32, 119 - - Siegen mine, 107, 118, 232 - - Sigismund, Emperor, 252 - - Silesia, 250 - - Sinn River, 42 - - Sisley portrait, Renoir, 232 - - “_Sittenbilder_,” 163 - - 65th Infantry Division, 82 - - Slade Professor of Art, 18 - - Smith, Col. Hayden, 272 - - Smith College, 257 - - Smyth, Lt. Craig, to France, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21; - at Versailles, 26, 27; - assigned to Munich, 33, 34; - need for guards, 62, 63; - at Verwaltungsbau, 64, 65; - Howe stays with, 66, 67; - inspects pictures, 77-78; - lends packers to Howe, 80, 81; - Rothschild jewels, 177; - visits Berchtesgaden, 216, 217; - Belgian restitution, 243, 245; - “Westward Ho” shipment, 276; - mentioned, 54, 127, 214, 254, 258 - - Soldier King, _see_ Frederick William - - Solly, Edward, 145 - - Special Evacuation Team, 228, 236, 247, 254, 256 - - Speisesaal (of Prinz Regenten Theater), 66 - - Spitzweg, 78 - - Springerwerke, 148, 149, 153, 166 - - Staatsarchiv, 231, 233, 235 - - Staedelsches Kunstinstitut, 44 - - Standen, Lt. Edith, 50, 51, 246, 259, 261, 263, 264, 272, 280, 285, - 290 - - _Stars and Stripes_, 284 - - Staedel, the, 44 - - Steinbergwerke, 134 - - Stettin Museum, 249, 250 - - Stevenson, Robert Louis, 269 - - Stevensville, Newfoundland, 16 - - _Still Life with Dead Peacocks_, Rembrandt, 269 - - Stockholm Museum, 280 - - Stokowski, Leopold, 182 - - Stone, Chief Justice Harlan Fiske, 289 - - Stoss, Veit, 252 - - Stoss altarpiece, 27, 253, 263, 272 - - Stout, Lt. George, USNR, described, 31; - plans for repositories, 32; - visits to Munich, 58, 59, 61-62, 106-107; - advises Siegen evacuation, 118; - as part of team, 128; - introduces Howe and Moore to Alt Aussee mine, 134-144; - opinion of Sieber, 154; - loading techniques, 156-161; - leaves for Pacific, 167-170, 178; - on the “old masters,” 208; - on removal of art works to the United States, 262; - mentioned, 53, 66, 68, 77, 131, 149, 162, 180, 212, 245, 263 - - Stradivarius violins at Innsbruck, 110 - - Strasbourg Cathedral, 27 - - Strigel, Bernhard, 198 - - Strobl, 131 - - Stuttgart, 228, 229, 282 - - Sudetenland, 89 - - Suk, Capt. Egon, 271 - - Sverdlik, Dr., 95, 96 - - “Swan country,” 237 - - Switzerland, 44, 146, 179, 194 - - - Table of Organization, 231, 283 - - Taunus Anlage, 29 - - Taunus mountains, 31, 266 - - Tel-el-Amarna, 286, 287 - - Ten Cate Collection, 195 - - “Teppich-Beisser, Der,” _see_ Hitler, Adolf - - Terceira, 16 - - Thacher, Major Coleman W., 87, 99, 101, 120 - - Theatinerkirche, 56 - - Third Army (U. S.), 57, 59, 62, 104, 110, 129, 147, 169, 176, 186, - 222, 226, 228, 247, 251, 260, 271 - - Third Army Headquarters, 53, 66, 68, 76, 103, 107, 112, 177, 210, - 214, 219, 226, 236, 238, 245, 246 - - Thoma, 78 - - Throne Room, 238 - - Thüngen, Baron and Baroness, 43 - - Thuringia, 32 - - Tiepolo, 47, 78 - - Tiffany’s, 238 - - Tintoretto, 150, 153 - - “Tiny,” 217 - - Titian, 24, 150, 153, 168 - - _Titus_, Rembrandt, 194 - - T.O., _see_ Table of Organization - - Transient Officers’ Mess, 126 - - Transportation Office, 32 - - Traunstein, 81, 179 - - “Treasure Room” of Walter Farmer, 284, 286 - - Treppenhaus, the, 47 - - Trianon Palace Hotel, 27 - - Trier, 147 - - True Cross, 253 - - Truman, Pres. Harry S., 230, 275 - - Tuileries Gardens, 23 - - 12th Army Group Headquarters, 31 - - 26th Division (Yankee), 100, 126 - - 263rd Field Artillery Battalion, 86, 87 - - Tyrol, the, 108, 109 - - - Ulm, 228 - - _Ungaria_, the, 86 - - UNRRA, 248 - - United States Forces, Austria (USFA), 247, 251 - - United States Forces, European Theater (USFET), 229, 231, 235, 251, - 252, 255, 259, 260, 263, 264, 271, 272, 283 - - U. S. Group Control Council, 49, 106, 229, 230, 259, 261, 283 - - United States Zone of Germany, _see_ American Zone - - University of California, 253 - - University of Frankfurt, 37, 53 - - University of Munich, 225 - - Unterstein, 180, 187, 224 - - Upper Bavaria, 282 - - Upper Franconia, 247 - - Urfahr, 87, 124 - - USFET, _see_ United States Forces, European Theater - - USFET Mission at The Hague, 268 - - USFET Mission to France, 265 - - Utrecht, 266 - - - Valland, Rose, 23, 24, 264 - - Vanderbilt, Paul, 281 - - Van Dyck, 143, 150, 153, 172, 185, 235, 245 - - Van Meegeren, 270 - - Van Meegeren fake, 199 - - Van Pannwitz collection, 194 - - Vassalle, Capt. Rudolph, 40, 41 - - Vatican, the, 152 - - VE-Day, 17, 118 - - Veitschöchheim, Germany, 46 - - Veit Stoss altarpiece, _see_ Stoss altarpiece - - Velásquez, Diego Rodríguez, 24, 168 - - Vermeer, Jan, 182, 201, 270 - - “Vermeer” fake, 182, 191, 192, 198-201, 270 - - Verona, 176 - - Veronese, Paul, 153, 172 - - Versailles, 18, 21, 24, 25, 27, 49, 58, 63, 128, 229 - - Versailles Treaty, 145, 255 - - Verwaltungsbau, 64, 65, 70, 105, 216 - - Vichy Ministry of Fine Arts, 146 - - Vienna, 25, 26, 83, 93, 140, 151, 152, 167, 176, 247, 251, 252, 253 - - Vienna Museum, 24, 167, 168, 175 - - Vierzehnheiligen, 215 - - _View of the Piazza San Marco_, Canaletto, 198 - - Vigée-Lebrun, Mme., 78 - - Villacoublay, 28 - - VJ-Day, 235 - - Volkwang Museum, 232 - - Voltaire, portrait of, Houdon, 246 - - Vorenkamp, Lt. Col. Alphonse, 256, 258, 261, 267, 269, 270, 271 - - Voss, Dr. Hermann, 163 - - Vrečko, Lt. Col. František, 271 - - Vries, Capt. Robert de, 267 - - Vroom, Nicolaes, 267 - - Vysi Brod, 89 - - - Waffenraum, Schloss Kronberg, 39, 249 - - Wagner, Richard, 237 - - Walker, John, 119, 192, 202 - - Wallraf-Richartz Museum of Cologne, 233 - - Warsaw, 249, 250, 251 - - Washington, D. C., 17, 273, 275, 279, 289 - - Webb, Lt. Col. Geoffrey, 18, 21, 24, 26, 28, 38 - - Wehrmacht, the, 121, 157 - - Weimar, 232 - - “Weinzinger,” 84 - - Weisser Saal, 48 - - Weltenburg, 215 - - Wendland, Swiss art dealer, 195, 197 - - Wesel, 266 - - Western Military District (of American Zone), 246, 260, 269 - - Western Sea Frontier Headquarters, 14 - - Westminster Abbey, 21 - - Westphalia, 32, 107 - - “Westward Ho” shipment, 275, 276, 280 - - Whistler’s _Mother_, 232 - - White House, the, 289, 290_n._ - - _White Roses_, Van Gogh, 232 - - Whittemore, Maj. Lewis W., 89, 94, 114 - - Widener Collection, 50, 262 - - Widener house, 51 - - Wies, 215 - - Wiesbaden, 31, 33, 62, 156, 247, 259, 263, 275, 278, 279, 282, 285, - 287, 288, 294 - - Wiesbaden Manifesto, 275 - - Wiesbaden Museum, 247 - - _Wilhelm Tell_, 186 - - Williams College, 177 - - Wimpole Street, 19 - - Windischgrätz, Princess, 93 - - Windsor, Duke, of, 131 - - Wolfsgarten, 250 - - Woolley, Col. Sir Leonard, 20 - - World War I, 37, 39, 70, 164, 287 - - Wright, Frank Lloyd, 284 - - Württemberg, 229 - - Württemberg-Baden, 246, 282 - - Würzburg, 46, 48, 236, 280 - - Würzburg Residenz, 215 - - - “Yankee Division,” _see_ 26th Division - - - Zell am See, 191 - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALT MINES AND CASTLES *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where - you are located before using this eBook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |